“Better road surfaces and better driving conditions lead to fewer accidents and fewer deaths on our roads.” according to Roscommon Galway Independent candidate Denis Naughten.
He is now calling for greater focus and investment to be put into local roads, as a result of the serious damage caused by the severe winter weather.
“At present many roads are in an unsafe condition and urgent funding needs to be provided to Roscommon and Galway Country Councils to ensure we can raise roads which were flooded and resurface those roads that have been virtually washed away this winter,” stated Denis Naughten.
“But it is not just the current poor road surfaces that need to be addressed; we also need a full audit of our local roads to improve driving conditions and driving performance on Irish roads.”
“I am now calling on the Government and County Councils to address significant failings when it comes to road conditions, road signage and road markings. We recently had a national survey of our whole road network which has shown that one third of local roads had some structural defect, and this has been compounded by the recent poor weather conditions.
“We now need to see action. A properly funded roads budget must be put in place, with a specific allocation of funding from the Department of Transport ring-fenced for the rural road network each year.
“We must also have a fully funded Local Improvement Scheme programme which was very effective in the past in upgrading private roads. This scheme should also be used to address flooding problems, where a practical solution can be found.”