Road repair programme announced

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar yesterday announced a series of measures to tackle the “growing problem” of road maintenance and upkeep.

He has told local authorities they can use € 42 million in funds currently allocated to road improvements for emergency repairs to local and regional roads instead.

However, there would be no budget for new local or regional road construction in the next couple of years, he said.

“While this will be a disappointment to some areas, there is no point in building new roads if we cannot maintain the existing network,” he said.

A new fund of €2.7million will be allocated this year to drainage works in the worst-affected local and regional roads, Mr Varadkar said. Water “lying on roads” was a large cause of deterioration, he said.

There was a “real and growing problem” with local roads, particularly tertiary roads and regional roads in some rural counties, Mr Varadkar told RTÉ Radio.

Councillors had been urging his department to assist with funds for road conditions, he said. However, he called on local authorities to spend more of the funding they receive from road tax on maintenance.

“Each local authority is expected to use a portion of its own resources on road improvements, in addition to direct Government funding,” he said.