I concur with Deputy Kelly in relation to roads and the condition they are currently in. Roads have taken an absolute pounding in recent months as a result of relentless bad weather. We received funding last week, which is very much welcome, but the pace of the provision of funding and the pace of deterioration are at two very different levels. Will the Government consider a special supplementary allocation in light of the level of damage that has been done? Damage has been done to roads the like of which I have never seen before. It is not just local county roads; it is all categories of roads. I ask that more discretion and autonomy be given to local engineers. There are far too many programmes that have to be referred to Dublin for approval. It makes zero sense that a mason repair job of €10,000 on a boreen in the back-end of Offaly has to be referred to Dublin for approval. Give the money to the engineers. Challenge them at the end of the year to see if they spent it all and if projects came in under budget. Let us get more efficiency into the system.

On the latter point, I support more autonomy, as we have discussed at the infrastructure committee, and cutting out some of the process. If there are any suggestions from the Deputy's local authority as to how we can improve the turnaround time for decisions, I am more than open to hearing them. An overall assessment of the storm damage done to roads is taking place. We will obviously have to examine what that assessment finds and consider it in the context of the additionality that might be required. There already is contingency given to local authorities in their core budgets in this regard.

Some of the immediate work might involve temporarily remedying damage to roads. It might be next year before issues relating to the damage done by the storms will be fully rectified. There is work ongoing across Government to see what the amount required might be this year. We are engaging with local authorities as part of that.