I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber this morning to take this very important Commencement matter. This is a pretty straightforward topic. The programme for Government commits to funding a matching road maintenance catch-up programme for local authorities with poor pavement surface conditions. Of the approximately 3,000 km of local roads that Wexford has at the moment, there are many roads that are in need of significant repairs. I ask the Minister of State for an update on the Government's catch-up roads maintenance fund. I am very much aware of the €23.3 million that was allocated to Wexford County Council to fix local and regional roads, as well as the €13.49 million that was allocated to us following Storm Chandra and the devastating damage it caused at the beginning of this year. This question specifically relates to the catch-up funding to bridge the gap and address the enormous issues that we have had across County Wexford with our local and regional road network.

I thank the Senator for his question, which I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I will begin by providing a brief outline of the issues. The local authorities are the bodies responsible, under statute, for the maintenance and improvement of local and regional roads. There has been huge investment in local and regional roads over the last while. In 2026, €718 million was made available, which facilitated an increase of €26 million for road protection and renewal throughout Ireland. While there has been an increase in funding, the challenge with local and regional roads is that we are constantly playing catch-up, to be honest about it.

The Senator spoke about recent storms and the damage that had been done. The Government made extra funding of more than €13 million available to Wexford County Council to deal with those issues. The challenge we have is to make sure enough funding is being made available by the State. It is an issue that has been raised right across the country but particularly in Wexford. I am not going to go through the formal answer provided but I take very seriously the question the Senator has asked. I take the issues in Wexford very seriously, particularly those relating to the damage caused by the storm. A lot of the time when there is a very severe storm, there is an initial assessment of the damage done and a request for extra money but it is only when the roads are being repaired that we see the absolute damage and understand the actual amount of funding that is needed. I propose to take the question that the Senator has asked back to the Department. The response sets out the increases in funding.

We are in budget negotiations between the Department of Transport and the Department of public expenditure but those points are being hammered out over the next while. It is important that we understand that local and regional roads play a vital part in the lives and livelihoods of many people across rural Ireland, and in County Wexford in particular. It is important we understand what the need is for the local authorities, that we match that need, and that there is full engagement not just from the Departments of Transport and public expenditure but also with resources from within the local authorities. I will bring those matters to the Department of Transport and ensure that they receive the attention they deserve.

I thank the Minister of State. I think the main issue here is that the programme for Government commitment has created an expectation that there will be additional once-off funding to bridge the gap between where our roads are and where they ought to be. There is a growing sense of frustration among county councillors and Wexford County Council, as with many local authorities up and down the country, who want a clear timeline for when this catch-up funding will be made available. I appreciate the fact that the Minister of State will bring it back to the Government in the context of the budget taking place next Tuesday and, hopefully, that might yield some good news for us.

I thank the Senator. In the programme for Government, there was a clear commitment and an understanding on the amount of funding that would have to be put in place, particularly for local and regional roads across the country. That funding would have to increase to meet the demands and challenges being met right across many of our communities. The Senator quite rightly raised the issue in relation to County Wexford. I certainly will. I travel many of the local and regional roads on a daily basis and understand the challenges that are there. I also understand the huge volume of traffic on our roads now. Sometimes I marvel that some of the roads and bridges built centuries ago are taking the current traffic levels. That being said, there is a commitment in the programme for Government and I certainly will advocate to my colleagues in the Department of Transport and across wider government in relation to the points the Senator has made.