Serious deterioration in County Galway's "crumbling" national and local roads are creating "serious safety risks", leading a Galway TD to demand emergency funding be allocated for their repair and maintenance.
Independent Galway West TD Noel Grealish has written to the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, to request the funding. He also drew attention to a recently published report by the National Oversight and Audit Commission which revealed that almost one-tenth (eight per cent ) of Galway’s roads had serious structural damage and 81 per cent of the local primary road network had some surface defects.
Dep Grealish pointed out that the report "actually relates to 2016" and does not take into account the "further deterioration since, made worse by events like Storm Eleanor and Storm Emma". He added: “Some of the roads throughout Galway have been so damaged, cracked, and potholed by years of cumulative neglect, they are a danger to roads users, whose very lives are being put at risk."
While he acknowledged that the Government has made an increased spend this year on regional and local roads, he said that without a "greatly increased" emergency allocation, it would "end up being little more than a sticking plaster job".
The Carnmore based TD also alleged that the Galway County Council is "facing an increasing number of compensation claims" for damage to cars caused by poor roads. He also said that emergency funding was provided during the "unprecedented poor weather" and again for the fodder crisis. “The longer this goes on without a huge injection of funds," he said, "the worse things are going to get."
