Similar to my colleague from Wicklow-Wexford, I would like to raise the issue of the condition of roads in County Wexford. I travelled some of the rural roads in Wexford over the weekend and, quite frankly, they are in an appalling condition. I do not have to tell the Taoiseach that Wexford suffered an enormous amount of weather damage over the past number of weeks. The roads were in a very poor condition. I recently met officials from Wexford County Council and they were quite worried about the allocation of money that will come to them given the level of damage. I ask that extra provision be provided to bring the roads up to somewhat of a good standard, in particular the rural roads. They are like lunar landscapes, such is the level of damage. We owe it to the people, particularly in rural areas, who are suffering year in, year out but who are really suffering now as a result of the condition of the roads. We really need an extra special allocation for this.

There was always contingency funding within the Department of Transport in terms of damaged roads as a result of flooding. There was a lot of damage as a result of the recent flooding, and we have made it very clear, through the Department of Transport, to say to the local authorities that they should get on with doing the roads that have been damaged, specifically by the flooding. They should not be hanging around; they should get them done and they will be covered.