Mayo Fine Gael TD John O'Mahony has called on the Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and Environment Minister John Gormley to reverse their decision not to provide emergency funding to repair roads damaged by the recent bad weather. Deputy O’Mahony said the current state of the roads will cost lives if they are not repaired.
“This is not a matter of book keeping, it is a road safety issue and it’s crucial that a country wide road audit is undertaken immediately to establish where the most damage has been done. An emergency committee has now been set up to deal with the crisis, however, Minister Gormley and Minister Dempsey have stated that there will be no additional funding made available to local authorities to carry out the work that is needed.
“In last month’s Budget, the Government slashed the road maintenance budget by nearly 10 per cent, making the current situation even more critical. Without additional financial assistance, local authorities will be unable to restore our roads adequately,” he said.
Dep O’Mahony continued: “They must also make funding available for local and secondary roads as well as the main national routes. In the cold snap the people on the secondary roads were forgotten about. This must not happen when it comes to repairing these roads. I have already received reports of burst tyres which is an instant safety concern for drivers. We cannot accept these substandard road conditions. The Government, as a matter of urgency, needs to instruct the emergency committee to carry out an audit and provide the funding to make the repairs necessary to make our roads safe again.”
