‘Unprecedented’ wet weather causing roads to crumble

The deteriorating condition of North Meath's roads has led to calls for special funding for repairs to surfaces that have deteriorated due to unprecedented weather conditions.

Deputy Johnny Guirke raised serious concerns regarding the condition of roads, stating that there appears to be neither the funds nor the urgency from the Government to address this, while Cllr Paul McCabe called on the Government to allocate special funding to deal with the problem.

Deputy Guirke said his office had been inundated with a surge of emails and calls from constituents who are frustrated by the continuous oversight of the road infrastructure which requires immediate resurfacing and maintenance.

Cllr Michael Gallagher said: “The outdoor staff in Meath Co Council and the engineers are doing their best but with very little funding in place for North Meath roads they are under severe pressure especially with the roads rapidly deteriorating due to poor weather conditions.”

“I have highlighted the condition of North Meath roads on a council level every year since being elected and recently addressed the poor condition of the roads to Minister Eamon Ryan at a special council meeting.

“People are trying their best to keep their cars to a decent standard with an NCT while paying road tax and it’s not fair on them,” said Cllr Gallagher.

He said that when he and Deputy Guirke sat on the council, they consistently voted against the three-year roads programme. Cllr Gallagher argued that the programme neglected the crucial needs of North Meath's roads. He said he had had little to no support from his council colleagues from other political parties.

“We are committed to holding the council and the Government to account and ensuring that North Meath receives its fair share investment, unlike many sitting councillors who have supported the tree years roads programme.”

Meanwhile, Cllr McCabe called on the Government and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan to urgently allocate special funding to address the effect of “unprecedented weather conditions” have had on many local roads across county Meath over recent months. “We have has unprecedented rain over the past six months. This rain has had a terrible effect on the local road network across Meath, particularly North Meath.

“The tax payers of Meath deserve to travel on road surfaces that are at the very least passable. Potholes and craters are appearing like mushrooms overnight. The Meath Co Council crews are doing their best and we thank them for their work but they cannot conceivably keep up with the pace at which potholes are appearing and the rate at which the rain has been falling.

“Cars are being wrecked by potholes on a daily basis. We need an emergency intervention now. There is a danger of heading back to the “bad old days” when some roads were closed because of their poor state. Cllr McCabe said that local authority will have to consider taking out a loan if emergency funding is not granted by government as some roads in North Meath are near impassable.”

“Last July, I urged the local authority to use new technology available to tackle the deteriorating road network across county Meath. I put forward the case for Meath Co Council to purchase new pothole repair machines, called High Velocity Road Patchers. I have seen little in the way of progress, which is very disappointing.

Sinn Fein local election candidate, Peter Caffrey from Oldcastle, has pledged to make the restoration and upgrading of North Meath's roads a key priority. He said that he will fight for the necessary funding along with his Sinn Féin colleagues.