Road Network
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

No, but here is the difficulty. I have visited roads, including one that is close to the town of Ballybay and one close to Castleblayney, in recent weeks. The roads are in a terrible condition. From dealing with the local authority, the best it can do in the short term is patching work, which in many ways is economically crazy but it has to be done. The best-case scenario under the current trajectory is that it could take five or even six years before those roads will be properly restored.
Here is the frustration of people in those areas: they have seen their cost of insurance increase; they are paying their road tax; they have seen the cost of petrol and diesel being increased by the Government on an annual basis; and, for those who have to travel to Dublin or elsewhere, their toll charges have increased. They are asking themselves what they are getting for all of this, if they cannot even drive to their local school without risking bursting the suspension on their car.
I know the Minister cannot give the precise figures. Will there be a substantial increase in road funding so we can ensure that the programme for road maintenance and restoration will be accelerated in the coming months and years?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15