Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The issue of the serious and continuous underfunding of basic public services is one that is raised almost on a monthly basis with local authority members in Monaghan and Cavan and in many parts of rural Ireland. I was contacted recently by a local councillor in the area, Councillor P. J. O'Hanlon, who put forward some figures to clarify how bad the situation is. He told me that based on the current level of funding required to repair footpaths in the Castleblayney-Carrickmacross municipal district, it would take 20 years to carry out the repairs. With respect to the allocation for public lighting, based on current national allocations, it will take 24 years to repair the public lighting required in the Castleblayney-Carrickmacross area. Another councillor in the Ballybay-Clones area, Councillor Séamus Coyle, told me that based on the current levels they would need about €600,000 to carry out the works on the roads that are in bad need of repair but they will only get €130,000 this year to repair the roads network in that area. When one factors in that the cost associated with repairing roads has increased, that indicates the scale of the problem that confronts them.

Apart from the everyday community use of roads, Monaghan is quite unique in that quite a number of small enterprises are located up small boreens, small local roads and off regional roads. In a recent study conducted it was found that the local road network in County Monaghan was one of the worst in the entire country.I was depressed to hear from councillors in the area generally that when a community is bereaved, the local councillor is contacted and asked if the local authority will fix the potholes for traffic travelling to the wake. This is a sad reflection of how bad the problem in that particular area is and highlights the chronic need for increased funding for public roads and infrastructure in Monaghan, Cavan and many other counties based on the information I get from local authority members. I would welcome it if the Leader would ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House in order that we can emphasise to him the importance of additional funding for counties such as Monaghan and Cavan.