Council to receive €700,000 funding for regional roads

Westmeath County Council have received €696,000 of the €30 million in additional funding for roads following extremely wet months announced this morning.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers have announced €30 million in additional funding for regional and local roads, to deal specifically with the impact of climate change, which has contributed to a deterioration in the surface quality of certain parts of the network over the winter months.

Following persistent rainfall over winter and spring, and in line with the government’s commitment to support local authorities in the maintenance and renewal of the regional and local road network, the emergency investment will assist in addressing the worst affected areas of the road network.

In persistent wet conditions, water seepage contributes to damage such as the development of potholes or pavement collapse.

Minister Ryan said: “Keeping our road network safe is a priority for me and this government. Climate change, like the prolonged rain we saw this past winter and spring, has a damaging impact on our road surfaces which has to be addressed quickly so that it does not lead to further deterioration.

“Through this additional funding Local Authorities can begin to restore the impacted Regional and Local Road network along with building resilience into the network in an ever-changing environment.”

Robert Troy, TD, said: “I’m delighted to receive confirmation from my party colleague Minister Jack Chambers that almost €700k has been allocated for regional and local roads in Westmeath.

“We need to keep our roads safe. A large number of roads across the county have suffered substantial deterioration during the winter and spring due to the severe weather. This emergency investment will give Westmeath County Council the funds necessary to repair potholes and other damage on our roads caused by the extremely heavy rainfall over the winter and spring months.

“Fianna Fáil in government are committed to supporting local authorities in the maintenance and renewal of the regional and local road network.”

Minister Chambers said protecting and improving the existing road network is fundamental for road safety, and for connecting people and places. “Our network facilitates business, education, tourism, healthcare, agriculture and the provision of critical services and activities. Prompt restoration of the impacted road network is essential from a safety perspective as well as maintaining key social and economic connections.”

For equity, the additional funding is to be distributed among local authorities based on road lengths per region as extreme rain affected areas throughout the country.

The Dublin local authorities self-fund road maintenance and improvement works from the receipt of local property taxes, and so have not been allocated funding under this scheme. They will maintain and renew local and regional roads in their areas from their own budgets.