Roads budget slashed in half over six years

The allocation for minor roads in County Galway has dropped by an incredible €20 million in the space of just six years.

It means that many rural roads in the county will not be attended to by Galway County Council staff over the next twelve months.

And it was revealed this week that a community put a barrel over a pothole on a road near Knockdoe to prevent motorists from hitting it.

Members of Galway County Council will be shocked to hear that six years ago they had nearly €40 million to spend on local roads.

The allocation this next year is a mere €18.5 million. This means that a lot of smaller roads will not be repaired.

There are now claims that roads in the county will now be resurfaced every 30 years. Even Council officials say they have no money to carry out the works.

Cllr. Sean Canney said that when today’s budget is discussed, the emphasis will be on road repairs and upkeep.

Back in 2008 the roads funding grant to Galway County Council was almost €40 million. It is certainly nothing like that at the moment.

Later today they will be told that the allocation for local roads has been reduced by a staggering €20 million over the years.

Senior Roads Engineer with Galway County Council Evan Molloy has already put councillors on notice that some badly potholed roads will not be repaired because they simply did not have the money.

He made his comments at several meetings of the county’s municipal districts in recent weeks. He explained a lot more funding was required.

But during the course of 2015 a lot of the minor roads will experience further damage without any repairs being carried out. There is a reduction in funding to the tune of 50% over the past six years.

“This lack of funding is leading to some roads being abandoned in our County.

“It will mean that roads will not be attended to as required and roads will be resurfaced every 30 years.

I can see a situation developing where our roads are going in the same direction of water because local authorities are being starved of funding”, Cllr. Canney added.