Cavan local roads funding
Senator Tully says Cavan County Council received less road funding than last year and argues local roads are deteriorating badly despite the council's efforts.
The long-awaited road allocation was made this week to local authorities. I have listened to a number of Government representatives welcoming this money. However, when I look at the money allocated to Cavan County Council, there is a shortfall of €27,000 on last year's allocation for local roads. I have raised the issue previously. Many people have raised the condition of the roads in their areas. They are a disaster everywhere. In Cavan, however, the roads are disintegrating in front of our eyes. Cavan County Council spent considerable time putting together a submission to the Department last year seeking additional funding for the roads. There is a long and extensive network of rural roads in Cavan and those roads are in very poor condition. When you factor in inflationary costs and the lack of funding that has been provided over the past decade, there has been an underinvestment of €2 million in the roads in Cavan. We have now received an allocation of less than last year, despite all of the work done by representatives and the council itself. It beggars belief.
We need a conversation with the Minister for Transport about this road allocation and where we are going. We in Cavan must depend on our road structure. I have said often enough that we have no train service. Everything happens by road. It is a large rural county with a lot of agriculture and agri-sector employment in rural areas. We need our road structure in decent condition.