Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. More than 8,000 learner drivers are languishing on waiting lists in Wicklow and Wexford. Some have been waiting for more than eight months, which is unacceptable. A young person could be fleeced by exorbitant insurance costs of €2,000 to €3,000, which is frustrating.

Then comes another shock, that is, trying to navigate and drive safely on County Wexford's rural road network, which is disintegrating before our eyes, especially after the recent bad weather. After the Celtic tiger years, Governments reduced roads funding dramatically to County Wexford, leaving a €67 million hole in the county's rural roads budget. Even the 2021 storm works, including bridge repairs, are only being completed now.

Across the State, an average of 15% of roads are in poor condition. In Wexford, however, this figure rockets up to 28%, which is almost double. Judging by technical surveys, roads in Wexford have been left behind for 30 years. This information comes from official road surveys, engineers reports and the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, report.

A technical analysis by Wexford County Council estimated that €194 million was needed to address the crisis in County Wexford's rural roads, presenting a significant safety issue. The local authority simply cannot bridge this gap with its own resources. It is not fair on motorists, who are having their cars wrecked on such terrible roads. It is a serious road safety issue, whether one is a young learner or an experienced driver, having to zigzag across rural roads to avoid hitting huge potholes, some akin to craters one could almost wash a child, and broken verges while meeting oncoming traffic. One can see how this would be such a danger.

In a recent parliamentary question, I called on the Minister to start allocating funding to counties based on road condition rather than, as at present, road length. The response I received was rather ridiculous, essentially telling me that it would disincentivise county councils from repairing bad roads if the Government were to allocate funding based on road condition. This is nonsensical and unacceptable to everybody and it is something I will not let rest in the Chamber. As with the driver licence issue, this is a significant matter for the Road Safety Authority.

I call on the Minister of State to immediately intervene with emergency funding for County Wexford to deal with the disintegrating road conditions. No other country in Europe has to put up with this and no other county in Ireland would put up with it, so why should we in Wexford? I need this to be addressed immediately as an emergency safety issue.

See this speech in context