National roads and derogation
Senator Paddy Burke defended the Ballina project referenced by O'Sullivan and then raised concern about deteriorating national roads, asking the Minister for Transport what he intends to do. He also mentioned changes to the derogation affecting roads policy.
I second the amendment to the Order of Business that has been proposed by Senator Colm Burke. While I appreciate that Senator Ned O'Sullivan is speaking from the heart, I remind him that the project to which he refers is a welcome development in Ballina, County Mayo. To be fair to the person to whom the Senator alluded, who is a former Member of this House and a former President-----
Comment on this
She was much more than a President or a Senator. She was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Many of the papers relate to that role rather than to her time as President.
I ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, who is a former Member of this House, to come to the Seanad to discuss the state of our national roads. I read recently that, according to a report, our national roads are falling asunder and are badly in need of restructuring in some cases. What does the Minister propose to do about the structure of national roads throughout the country? He recently reduced the derogation in respect of the size of the loads that lorries can carry from 44 tonnes to 42 tonnes. This has put an enormous extra cost on road hauliers throughout the country. In effect, the carriage of goods to and from this country is more expensive because of the removal of the derogation. I would like the Minister to have another look at that because it is imposing significant expenses on road hauliers, who have also seen their insurance costs go sky-high in recent times. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister, Deputy Ross, into the House at an early opportunity.