Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy Troy, on bringing forward this motion. It is a pity, however, that he and we had to do this in order to highlight the sorry state of the road network and to try to increase investment in it. There is a post doing the rounds on social media which says that in Ireland we used to drive on the left but now we drive on whatever is left. This may seem funny but in many parts of west Cork it is reality. This is our daily life.

I could stand here for an hour naming the different roads in a bad and dangerous condition in my constituency, Cork South-West. The N71 is in a terrible state, especially the sections from Ballydehob to Bantry and from Clonakilty to Skibbereen. There are large potholes in Bandon that a person could nearly swim in. I know the Minister saw some of the roads on a visit to west Cork. Having seen them, however, it is a pity that the funding provided subsequently did not go far enough. Indeed, it does not go one tenth far enough. It is estimated that it would take €500 million to fix the roads in west Cork, yet only 10% of this amount was allocated.

This is not on. My former colleagues in Cork County Council have set down a motion for next Monday's meeting. They are demanding more money for road maintenance in Cork South-West. I commend them on this. A poorly maintained road is an unsafe road. The reality is that the shoddy state of the regional roads in west Cork will increase the frequency of road collisions and car damage. It is unfair for the motorist in west Cork to have to pay such high motor tax and yet have to pay to fix their cars day in and day out. When the Government makes its big announcement on Friday, with the much anticipated and at this stage predictable and boring bells, whistles and bows, will the Minister please remember what he heard here.

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