Extra roads funding must be made available, if needed

Many of County Meath's secondary and rural roads are, in places, close to a state of disintegration following damage caused by this month's adverse weather conditions which sent temperatures plunging to -14 Degrees Celcius in some areas of the county. The cost of repairing the damaged road network is likely to run into the tens of millions of euro - money Meath County Council does not have. With local authorities all over the country, including Meath, having found themselves stretched to breaking point to keep up with gritting needs during the cold snap, many are finding that they are running out of funds to repair local roads, many of which have seen small potholes widen into craters and crevasses a foot or more deep as road surfaces break up as a result of the harsh weather and heavy traffic. Some of the worst roads affected are in rural areas that see heavy vehicular traffic, such as HGVs, using them day in, day out. In this county, roads singled out for particular mention include those in the Drumconrath area, Skryne, Donore, Castletown and Walterstown. But, in truth, many of the county's secondary and county roads are in an appalling state, having suffered from a lack of investment over many years. When the money was there, a proper road rebuilding and strengthening programme was not undertaken. Local TD and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, meanwhile, has said no extra funding will be made available to local authorities for repairs to the damaged road network. He says councils will simply have to work within the budgets they have. A total of €400 million was allocated by the Government for roadworks in December but Meath County Council says it is still in the dark about how much of this it will get. The fear is that councils like Meath, faced with the prospect of getting no additional cash from the Government, may have to take money from other road-building projects to repair and resurface some of the most damaged roads in the county. Some of the worst-affected roads in Meath are virtually impassable in places, such is the size of the potholes, and these will simply have to be repaired if those that live on these roads are to be able to come and go to their homes. Difficult choices are going to have to be made by councillors and officials when it comes to emergency road repairs. Engineers will need to prioritise those routes that are most in need to repair work to keep them open, while some of the less badly affected roads may have to settle for simple pothole patching. Unless the minister can be persuaded to free up an emergency allocation, this may well be the best local authorities can hope for. Given the Government's difficult fiscal position, any emergency money may be extremely limited this year. However, given the extraordinary nature of the recent weather conditions and the wholesale damage to roads which resulted, local authorities should be able to make a case for additional cash if it is really needed. If a council cannot meet its obligations to keep some roads open after it has exhausted its own allocation, there must be some leeway on the part of the Dept of Transport to deal with roads on a case-by-case basis. Rural dwellers have already experienced misery during the first fortnight of the year due to the snow and ice during which many elderly people in particular were unable to leave their homes; they must not be condemned to spend even more time as prisoners in their own homes as a result of disintegrating roads and lanes. Meath County Council is already under serious budgetary pressure and has no ability at the present time to raise extra revenue at a time when economic hardship has seen its income from rates and levies plunge. Extraordinary times should call for extraordinary measures and if the council is unable to carry out vital road repairs after it has used up its 2010 roads allocation, then the Government should be forced to step in and make good the difference.