'Ongoing cuts impact road safety, flooding risk and the condition of local roads'

Funding for the maintenance of Donegal’s roads has been cut.

Latest figures released to Aontú show that funds for Donegal County Council's Roads Maintenance section have been cut by €51,777. It received €1,034,710 last year, down from the previous €1,086,487.

Aontú’s Creeslough Rep, Michael Harkin, says: “This is the funding that pays for basic road maintenance, including clearing drains and gullies, repairing potholes and carrying out minor surface works. This is essential towards keeping roads safe and preventing avoidable damage and it is all the more relevant during periods of heavy rainfall.

"These ongoing cuts are having a direct impact on road safety, flooding risk and the overall condition of local roads.

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"I have been calling for the resurfacing of the Creeslough to Carrigart road at Cashel, which is very rough and it's also the main road from the N56 to Doe Castle. My colleague Mary T Sweeney has been actively calling for the inclusion of a skid-free surface at Bunlin Bridge on the Milford to Carrigart road, the site of numerous accidents. We saw another this morning where a car careered up onto the ditch having skidded on black ice.

"Road maintenance is essential infrastructure for safety and cost savings. Cutting budgets leads to bigger, more expensive problems so it is a false economy, if that indeed is the purpose. With heavier traffic and harsher weather, reducing maintenance budgets worsens road conditions and raises safety concerns. It is absolutely essential that local authorities have consistent funding for effective, preventative maintenance. Maintaining roads is a core state duty. Communities deserve safe roads, not neglect caused by budget cuts.”