Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister will be aware, in County Cavan we do not have any rail line and do not have any east-west link as yet, though I am still hopeful. We are totally dependent on our road network. Some 70% of our population lives in rural areas. Our county sees very intensive rural commercial activity, leading to very high volumes of heavy goods vehicles on the local road network. There are very poor drainage conditions and, therefore, our roads are structurally weak. Page 9 of the programme for Government features a commitment to essential road maintenance and upkeep. Will the Minister commit to increasing the depleted allocation from his Department, which currently stands at €15 million? That must be restored to the €20 million allocation of ten years ago. At most, that will only allow us to protect County Cavan's regional and local roads. We need more funding to be allocated to Cavan County Council to protect what we have.

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