Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mother of God, I would appreciate if there was a little bit left.

There was talk earlier about speed limits, which are a very serious concern in my constituency. We have great sympathy for anyone who gets hurt in an accident and it is a concern but there has been a low rate of deaths in west Cork, and I pray to God that this continues for the people there. However, we are driving in extreme circumstances in areas where our roads are in appalling conditions. The Government lowered the budget for improvements to roads last week. That was well noted. The Government's TD from Cork South-West said it was shocking that the Government was going ahead with it. If its own TDs are accepting that the Government is throwing in the towel, they are accepting that this is a dreadful situation.

A report by one of the companies found that if not enough money was spent on roads, there would be an increased number of deaths. We have also not taken into account that there has been a huge influx of people into this country and there is a huge number of people working here. That means there are a lot more cars and a lot more people coming and going from their communities and workplaces. That has to be factored in too. There will be more road accidents and road fatalities due to extra traffic on the roads.

Of course, the public transport problem is not taken into account. Public transport is scandalous in rural Ireland. We have been hearing forever about plans for new routes and new this and that. We have had only one new route, or one successful new route, since the Government came into play. It is the route from Ardgroom to Castletownbere and down into Bantry and Kilcrohane, on which I compliment the Government. Unfortunately, this means cars have to be on the road, which means extra cars and more accidents.

I will touch on an issue Deputy Healy Rae spoke about. The new licensing law is causing serious concerns. Tractor drivers are on the road and backing into the sites they are working on. These diligent young workers must now have an artic licence. Was it the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who wrote this into law? We may be totally incorrect and they will not need an artic licence. If it is the case, however, it could lead to 3,000 or 4,000 job loses throughout the country. It could lead to people having to vacate building sites and road projects being halted. The Minister of State has to be clear on that issue. It is a very serious concern. It seems to be some sneaky kind of thing that has filtered in.

That would not surprise me, given the way things work here. As for roads I find that people driving on the roads at present find it more difficult because the roads are narrowing. New pathways are being built and beautiful greenways and then all of a sudden we realise that, actually two lorries will not pass on that road. Nobody gets fired because of that. I know of one road in Castletownbere where, were a lorry to come along at the same time as a Hymac, they would have to go up on the footpath to pass each other. That is outrageous. Somebody needs to lose their job over making such a cock-up.

When we look at the N71 and the R586 roads in west Cork from Bandon all the way down to Bantry via Enniskean, Ballineen and Dunmanway, no money is being spent on those roads; sometimes not even on pothole repair. The only bit of work that was done on the N71 under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was the bypass at Skibbereen. If we spend money on roads, we will not have fatalities. We will not have the desperate attempts people are making to try and drive on the roads. It could be the case that you could be held up and only doing 15 or 20 miles per hour on the N71, which is the main route into west Cork. Imagine being held up for all of that length of time doing 20, 25 or 30 miles per hour on a busy day when trying to get to work. That leads to frustration.

The licence issue is a very serious issue. I see the Minister of State is nodding away to himself. That needs to be clarified by the Minister of State. He has notified about it by people and we have certainly been notifying him. We would appreciate it if he could clarify the issue. It might be totally wrong and it might not happen but there will be thousands of job losses if this goes ahead.

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