Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I had the opportunity over the Easter recess to get around the country a little bit. I was in Limerick, Galway, Deputy Lowry's own county of Tipperary, Laois, Meath, Kildare and north County Dublin. The Deputy is correct that the issue of the condition of local and regional roads has been raised with me by citizens everywhere I go and that many such roads are in very bad condition: there are many potholes and ruts and many vehicles are being damaged. That is due to a combination of underinvestment in our roads during the dark years of the recession - the lost decade during which we did not have the money to invest in our public infrastructure - and also the very bad weather that we have experienced in recent times.

The total regional and local road budget for this year is €417 million, a very considerable increase of €90 million on last year. I did some metaphorical digging in the past day or two------

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