Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Breathnach has raised most of the issues. We have all seen practical examples, despite all the technology used now, where the system has failed road users on certain mornings. The Minister is very familiar with the N11, which we often see being gritted in the evening and late into the night. However, we have had significant rainfall overnight recently and a refreeze but at that stage it is too late to grit. The cars are on the road and the damage has been done. We have seen that happen quite a few times in recent years. While technology has brought more advances, it is about getting the grit quality right, the density of the grit and so on. All of that is improving.

In terms of the regional and local roads, different standards apply and there is a different approach to the regional roads. I recall getting a call from a constituent at 6.30 a.m. one morning to say that the long hill was completely covered in ice. That was because the road had been gritted but it rained and the surface froze over the gritting. The long hill was an ice rink that morning and by the time word got to the local authority to get the staff back out on the roads, almost two and a half hours had passed, which caused major problems.

Many national roads, including the M11, have been taken over privately in terms of providing maintenance, which is contracted. There is a different contractor on the M50 but the two roads inter-link. Is there co-operation between them to ensure all of them spread grit at the same time and with the same consistency to ensure the road user knows that the road will be cleared from one end to the other? The Minister might reply to the few points I have raised.

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