Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Bohernabreena Road opened yesterday, which was some help. We welcome that. The flooding as a result of Storm Chandra was quite shocking. As the Deputy will know, it has had a significant impact. The Minister sought submissions from all county councils in respect of the damage done to the roads. We announced various investments in February. Some €718 million for regional and local roads was announced. The Department is liaising with the affected counties, including Wicklow, which was significantly impacted. Approximately 300 local roads were damaged with over 50 left impassable across eight counties. Working with the local authorities, we will see what we can do to respond. Local authorities are advised to set aside a minimum of 10% of the grant given to them as a contingency to deal with severe weather events and damage to the network. We will follow up on that.

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