'Lives will be lost' warning as road funding cut revealed

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey was warned this week that lives would be lost as the cut in funding for local and regional roads in the county this year would turn damaged roads into 'death traps'. There was a furious reaction among opposition public representatives in the county to the minister's announcement on Monday of funding of over €13 million for local and regional roads this year - a cut of 10 per cent on last year's figure. Councillors pointed out that an additional €4 million would be needed this year to repair the damage to the county's roads caused by the Arctic weather conditions over the Christmas period on top of the cut in the annual funding would leave the county's roads in an appalling state. The €13,157,397 allocated to regional and local roads are part of a €411.408 million national investment in regional and local roads. Minister Dempsey said: "Despite economic constraints on Government spending, I am delighted to be in a position to allocate over €13 million for much-needed work on regional and local roads throughout Meath." He said the grant represented a very significant investment at a time when public finances were under severe pressure. However he was warned that there would be 'death and destruction' on Meath roads because of the cut in funding by local TD and Fine Gael Road Safety Spokesperson, Deputy Shane McEntee. He accused the Minister of abandoning the county's roads. Deputy McEntee said the minister failed to ensure that local authorities would have adequate funding to address the serious issue of road conditions. He said that 70 per cent of accidents took place on rural roads and the failure to fund them adequately would result in deaths on the roads. "It is essential that the road network is safe and fit for purpose. Until now, I have always supported the minister's road safety campaign, but I believe he has abandoned it by failing to fund the reapir of our badly damaged road network. "I am aware that the country is experiencing difficulty and that funding is not as plentiful as it was, but this year we experienced almost unprecedented cold weather and the roads have suffered as a result. I am angry to see the minister has made no provision to have these repaired," he said. The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Joe Reilly, said the roads in Meath were "an absolute disgrace, dangerous and in many cases unsuitable for use by normal traffic". "The reduction in money means that out investment in the county road structure will now been undermined." Cllr Reilly said Mr Dempsey should recognise the damage done over the Christmas period and compensate the county councils in order to keep the rural roads in good shape. He said there were many roads in the county that were dangerous to drivers, pedestrians and the local communities. The county's roads were described as 'death traps' by Cllr Jimmy Cudden who said he was bitterly disappointed at the funding made available this year, pointing out that many of Meath's rural roads had been decimated by the weather. "The roads are dangerous. On some of our east Meath roads, you have to drive in the middle of the road as the sides have fallen away," he said. Cllr Tracy McElhinney expressed her disappointment at the funding and said the roads in south Meath were 'diabiolical' and she feared lives would be lost because of their dangerous state. The roads were described as treacherous by Cllr Eugene Cassidy who warned that, when the rain came, the roads would deteriorate further and rained-filled potholes would be deadly dangerous for motorists. Fianna Fail TDs Mary Wallace, Johnny Brady and Thomas Byrne all welcomed the funding for local roads.