DEMPSEY STILL DITHERING ON CRITICAL ROAD REPAIRS
Issued : Monday 1 February, 2010
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey must urgently speed up the process of putting funding in place to repair roads all over the country which have been seriously damaged by the recent snow and floods, said Labour Councillor John Lyons
“The figure for fully repairing the non-national and regional roads has now been estimated as perhaps as much as €1 billion. Yet Minister Dempsey has still not announced even the regular 2010 funding allocation for non-national roads.
“Local Authorities are completely in the dark over how much extra funding may be available to repair the incredible damage that has occurred to local and regional road networks during the recent extreme weather conditions. People in affected areas continue to experience severe danger and inconvenience because of the devastation caused to so many roads. There are serious public safety implications if roads are left in such a terrible state of disrepair.
At Dublin City Council’s local area committee in January, Cllr. Lyons requested that the local office carry out a full examination of the road system in the North West Area of the city, as many roads had been damaged due to the freeze-thaw action caused by the snow. However, due to the Council’s shrinking budget, the local area office was not in a position to carry out a full inspection of the network. “I find this response disappointing and frustrating, as there are ample of examples throughout the area where roads have been clearly damaged. These pot holes not only make it unsafe for driving, but are also clearly causing damage to drivers cars.”
“Minister Dempsey and his government colleagues may apply for funds from the EU Rural Development Fund to help with the costs of the road repair bill. The Minister must now expedite this process and ensure that all national and EU funding is allocated so as to allow Local Authorities to carry out these vital repairs as a matter of priority.”
