Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State's response. I also appreciate that it is not his primary area of expertise. I think it is pertinent that he is in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That Department can play an enhanced role, as can the Department of Transport. While the intention was positive, it was quite regressive that the local improvement scheme was moved out of the Department of Transport. It is such a large Department with such a large budget that the scheme could have been better off in that Department. We are where we are today and it is never too late for those three Departments to adopt a collaborative approach, come back together again and do what they can for those local improvement schemes.

Wheelchair users, people trying to push buggies, little children who are trying to learn how to cycle bikes and other people have no way to use the roads that I have seen and helped to repair recently. We have to think about road users who simply cannot avoid the potholes. Some of these roads are peppered with potholes. People with young children and elderly people await funding to improve the roads. I acknowledge the hardship schemes that local authorities have for ambulance access, etc., but there are many similar situations around the country, with vulnerable people with specific health issues. In an emergency, emergency personnel would have a difficult time getting to the location.

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