Road Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Brian Stanley (IND), Laois

On the overall funding, if the Minister of State has more millions of euro, he should send them down to Laois, because they are needed. The cost of repairing roads has been increasing by 15% per annum. I do not have a problem with the €3.5 million for active travel; if he has another €3.5 million, I would welcome it. The problem is the specifications and what we are getting for the money. That is the point I am making.
Does a footpath really need to be 13 ft wide? Ten-wheeler wagons were drawing in concrete at Triogue Way. I know all this because I park in the car park beside it and I saw what was going on every day. The amount of concrete that has gone into it would support a section of motorway, never mind a footpath and cycleway. The good footpath that was already there had to be ripped out because of the Department's specifications. A row of bollards could have been put alongside it in the car park, a perfectly good cycleway could have been installed and the car park resurfaced. Everything would have been fine and dandy.
What is being done is absolutely ridiculous. We need a sense of proportion and we need to be practical. The Minister of State is a practical kind of person. He must speak to officials in the Department about this. We need to get bang for our buck. That is the point I am making. Allowing rural roads to deteriorate to the point they need substantial works will mean spending more money in the longer term. An area office is needed to get work done.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24