Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The issue of road safety has never been more pertinent. In the first quarter of the year, we saw a staggering 63 fatalities on Irish roads. I extend my condolences to all those affected by the recent tragedies on our roads. According to the Road Safety Authority, road fatalities have increased by 19% compared to the first quarter of last year.

While much has been said in the newspapers in recent weeks about ways to reverse this worrying trend, a number of constituents have pointed out to me that for them road quality and road safety go hand in hand. In rural parts of Clare many roads have been left inaccessible due to their poor condition. A constituent reached out to me to say not only that she cannot get food deliveries to her home but she cannot get heating gas delivered to her home either. The roads are in complete disrepair. A neighbour of hers experienced significant damage to their brand-new car, which has created many issues for them. People came together and lodged an application for the local improvement scheme. When I tried to follow up on this application with the council it confirmed that while the application was deemed valid, the community would not see the funding granted for some time as the scheme is completely oversubscribed.

It is not only one or two constituents who have reached out to me. There are constituents in west and north Clare and a number of other areas where the roads have not seen any significant maintenance for a number of years. A man who lives in the family home where he was born and reared remembers the road being repaired when he was a child. He now has his own children and in 30 years there has not been any maintenance work done on the road. He has been pushing for the work to be done since I was elected but to no avail.

Recognising this issue, Clare County Council recently adopted a resolution calling on the Government to quadruple the annual grant, which is why I welcome the recent announcement of an additional €2.5 million in funding for roads. That will go some way. The point is that we have been going without adequate funding for a number of years and there is a requirement for an additional €13.5 million. I ask the Minister of State to look at that.

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