Drivers in south Monaghan who feel every pothole on the way to school or work have had their complaints put directly to the county's Oireachtas members, with council officials warning that, at the present rate of funding, it would take about 50 years to get through every road in the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District that needs work.
The figures were laid out at a special meeting held ahead of the district's monthly meeting, to which councillors had invited local TDs and senators. Senator Robbie Gallagher and Deputy Brendan Smith of Fianna Fáil attended, along with Sinn Féin Deputies Matt Carthy and Cathy Bennett and Aontú Senator Sarah O'Reilly, the Anglo-Celt reported.
The numbers behind the complaints
District Co-ordinator Damien Thornton said the district has 700km of local and regional roads, graded from 1 to 6 on the Pavement Surface Condition Index, and that more than 20% of them score between 1 and 4, which he described as "basically structurally unsound". Director of Services Cathal Flynn said the money available is nowhere near enough, with less than two per cent of the network being done each year.
Cllr P.J. O'Hanlon (FF) put the district's annual need at about €4 million, against the €2.2 million it currently gets. He repeated his call for the extra 10% raised through the Local Property Tax to go towards roads, and criticised the council's plan to borrow €60 million for civic offices, saying roads matter more.
The district's Cathaoirleach, Cllr Noel Keelan (SF), said councillors and council staff are getting "daily calls" about the condition of the roads, with upwards of 200 complaints logged, though he said the local roads crew is doing good work on a tight budget. Cllr Colm Carthy (SF) said the district has a higher share of poorly rated roads than the county's other two districts put together, and warned that without a big increase in money more roads will slip.
Cllr Peter Conlon (FG) said some roads in south Monaghan "aren't passable" and that this year's 8% increase in funding did not even keep pace with inflation. Cllr Paul Gibbons (SF) and county Cathaoirleach Cllr Aidan Campbell (FG) also pressed for more money.
What the Oireachtas members said
Senator Gallagher called the need "chronic and urgent" and described current capital funding as "totally inadequate". Deputy Matt Carthy spoke of "a savage underfunding of roads" that is now hitting families who have no choice but to drive. Deputy Smith asked what share of Monaghan's network is made up of non-national roads and was told it is "in the late 80s" per cent. Senator O'Reilly said Cavan faces the same problem, arguing that an inland county with no port or railway needs to "get the basics right first", while Deputy Bennett said councils used to have the means to do basic repairs and are now struggling.
Senator Gallagher has since raised the matter with Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien in the Seanad, Northern Sound reported. He said inflation over the past five years has added up to more than 38.4%, while the council's roads funding from Government rose by only 24.3% over the same period, leaving a widening gap. He told the station the state of roads in Monaghan and Cavan is "dire".
Northern Sound noted that road conditions have become a regular topic at council meetings around the county, with some members linking a rise in accidents to poor surfaces. Councillors in Carrickmacross and Castleblayney will now be watching next year's road grant allocations to see whether their case has been heard.
