In recent weeks, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, published advice it gave to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in October 2022 that delaying road projects in Mullingar, Cork, Leixlip, Cahir and Limerick would lead to 77 deaths and 381 serious injuries but he ignored that advice. This ignored report did not even look at our minor roads which are starved of funding. One municipal district in west Cork needs at least €5 million to bring roads up the standard. It got a little over €2 million which will not even scratch the surface. A massive understanding is coming home to roost and excessive flooding is adding to a nightmare driving situation. We all know far more water is falling than ever before. Everyone knows we are the authors of our own downfall. We see drains blocked, and rivers full of silt and debris and in desperate need of cleaning. We have underfunding of roadside workers and machines, which, if in place, would alleviate at least 80% of flooding problems on our minor roads, preventing death and injury. I ask the Taoiseach to promise today that he will work with the Minister to double the roads budget in County Cork. Does he support the TII report to save lives? Will he call out the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for allowing an underspend on these roads?

There are many aspects to road safety. The condition of our roads is one of them, but much more important are driver behaviour, enforcement, safety of vehicles and so on. We need to attack the issue of road safety from all different angles. I will be chairing a ministerial meeting on road safety tomorrow. I think it is the first time any Taoiseach has chaired a meeting of Ministers on road safety in a very long time - perhaps more than ten or 12 years. I am really bothered about the increase in road deaths this year. I want to make sure that the eyes of my office are on it and that everyone in government, including the Department of Transport, does their bit when it comes to making sure people are safe on our roads.

I will be working with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to increase the roads budget for Cork and every other county. I only spoke to him about it yesterday. Central government is not the only source of funding for local and regional roads. There is also the local property tax, commercial rates and the various levies and charges that councils impose. Local authorities have more discretion than they make out when it comes to how much they invest in the roads, with some putting almost nothing in and some putting in quite a lot.