Funding cut for road repairs

The Cathaoirleach of Tipperary Co Council has vented anger at his own party in Government after it emerged that funding for local roads maintenance has decreased.

There was good news for capital projects in Tipperary last week with the Government announcing €57.7 million for regional and national roads in the county, including €12.5 million for the Nenagh-Thurles road realignment scheme at Latteragh. The Tipperary funding – one of the biggest packages in the country – was welcomed by local TD Ryan O’Meara, who said “Fianna Fáil is committed to maintaining and strengthening our national and regional road networks right across the country”.

But longstanding Fianna Fáil councillor John Carroll directed criticism at the party after he requested a breakdown of the maintenance funding for local roads. He was informed at last week’s meeting of Nenagh Municipal District that the total allocation for Tipperary this year is €8.3 million, and that this represents a decrease on last year’s allocation, which was more than €9 million.

Cllr Carroll described this as a “very disappointing” move from the Government at a time when local roads are in need of maintenance following five months of bad weather. He observed that Active Travel funding, which is generally centred on urban projects, appears to be increasing while allocations for rural Ireland are “going backwards”.

“That shows very little regard for outer regions,” Cllr Carroll said of Government policy. “Shame on them.”

WORST IN 20 YEARS

Several speakers at the meeting expressed concern over the current condition of many roads and the absence of funding to repair them.

“The roads in my area – I’ve never seen them as bad in 20 years,” Cllr Michael O’Meara exclaimed. He believed the roads in neighbouring counties Galway and Offaly are in a comparatively better condition. Cllr O’Meara said Tipperary Co Council would have to find new ways of bringing funding into this county, including climate change grants.

District Engineer Barry Murphy said the current road conditions are the worst he has seen in the last five years. “Roads in all parts of the district are extremely challenging at the moment,” Mr Murphy said.

The council’s outdoor staff have been patching continuously since Christmas and have been opening inlets. Mr Murphy advised the meeting that the council is operating under “extreme budgetary constraints” and is not receiving the funding required to keep in line with inflation. “That’s the harsh reality of it,” Mr Murphy commented.

RECURRING POTHOLES

Cllr Fiona Bonfield raised the problem of potholes recurring in some areas every three to six months. She asked whether the council could come up with a permanent solution, rather than having to continuously return to the same location.

Mr Murphy replied that the council has a “Hot Box” bitumen solution, which is very effective at filling potholes but is also very expensive, so its use is selective and sparing.

Cllr Joe Hannigan had spoken to crews that had to return to a potholed road a week after fixing it. “We’re fighting an uphill battle,” he observed, adding that the issue is one of safety for road users.

Cllr Carroll said some patching machines have not been used since October due to the weather. He said it would an understatement to describe the level of maintenance in the Nenagh district as “very poor”. While a lot of good work has been carried out on roads locally over recent years, this is about to become undone over the lack of maintenance, Cllr Carroll warned.

Senior Executive Engineer Kieran Malone said the concerns raised are not unique to Nenagh Municipal District. The council spends everything it receives and could do more if it received the funding.

Cllr Bonfield said people are turning to St Vincent de Paul to pay for their car insurance. They could not afford to pay for damage caused to their car by bad road surfaces.

“The Government need to open their eyes,” she said. “People can’t get to work because of the state of the roads.”

Cllr Hannigan brought the discussion back to the council’s budget meetings, saying the budget that was agreed to for 2026 resulted in a loss of €450,000 that could have been used for road maintenance. Other local authorities have raised commercial rates in trying to deal with the situation; Tipperary may have to follow suit, he said.

CAPITAL ALLOCATIONS WELCOME

District Director Liam Brett said the €57.7 million package announced for Tipperary last week is the second largest allocation in the country and should be welcomed. As well as Latteragh, it includes funding for projects such as the Carrigahorig Road Safety Improvement Scheme (€300,000), safety works for Ballina’s main street (€185,000), and Roscrea’s N62 bypass (€200,000).

“We’re getting more than our portion of the pie,” Mr Brett said. “We do need to acknowledge the funding we have got… but we do need increased allocations.”