Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Robert Troy for putting down this motion, which is very important. I notice Deputy Eamon Ryan is leaving the Chamber but this is not just about urban Ireland versus rural Ireland. This is about developing each and every corner of the country. If one travels on rural roads, one can see how secondary and regional roads have all been neglected. We can listen to the contributions made by people in the House tonight; they are speaking from their heart on the matter.

The Minister mentioned earlier that he visited many of the constituencies but Cork North-West is one he has not visited. In the few minutes available to me, I will speak about the position that has developed in Ballydesmond. There has been much development there and, for example, EirGrid got a road opening licence for putting a line through. It has left Ballydesmond in a deplorable state. This is a result of road works, so it must be very clear from the top down, from the Department through to local authorities, that if a road opening licence is issued, the road must be repaired so that people are not left living on a building site. I will also mention Ballymaquirkcross on the Mallow to Killarney road. It is an absolutely lethal junction and a number of accidents have occurred there. A petition has been circulated over a number of months to get something done with it. I appeal to the Minister to examine this junction on the Mallow to Killarney road outside Kanturk heading for Banteer. It is absolutely lethal.

There is no doubt but that the funding coming right through from the Department down to local authorities is not sufficient to meet the needs of maintaining the roads. We can all cite different ways in which roads have been maintained but unfortunately they are not being maintained. Water is lodging on them and damage is being done to cars. People living in rural Ireland expect and deserve the same right to have roads to home and to work as anybody else on the island of Ireland.

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