Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Some months ago, I raised a question with the Leader about the deteriorating state of secondary roads around the country. My concerns have been reflected in the report of a group of engineers that was published this week. It rated the country's roads, from motorways to local roads. That there has been a severe deterioration is obvious. I advised the Government that it should not follow the route taken by the coalition Governments of the 1980s, which left a legacy of roads deteriorated beyond acceptable levels that successive Governments spent ten or 15 years trying to restore.

I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, outline to the House Government policy in this regard the next time he is in attendance. There has been a deafening silence from the Government on the report. The deterioration is insidious. People in local authorities, particularly those responsible for financial and road planning, will point out that the cuts of recent years have reached unsustainable levels. I am not so much concerned by the fact that we are storing up a legacy for a future Government as I am by the fact that safety is at risk owing to the state of many roads.