Diverting road maintenance budget not a fix for overspending – O’Shea

The Minister for Transport needs to explain why substantial funding for minor road upgrades across the country will be diverted, a Fine Gael Councillor has said.

Councillor John Paul O’Shea, who is running for Fine Gael in the General Election in the Cork North-West constituency, said as funding has been diverted to cover the overruns on bigger projects, smaller essential works will be left behind.

“The Minister for Transport has said that some bigger projects have run over budget and require additional funding, but he’s refused to say how much these projects have been overrun by.

“Additional funding for these major projects will potentially be taken from the road-maintenance budget.

“If funding is taken from this budget, we could see the deterioration of roads all across the country.

“Reduced investment in key road infrastructure will not only impact road safety but may also threaten economic growth in more rural areas.

“We need to ensure our road infrastructure is maintained and improved, and the road maintenance budget is essential for this.

“We know projects like the Adare Bypass are important, and we need to see these projects completed, but it can’t be at the expense of smaller upgrades.

“The national roads maintenance programme should not be used as a means to balance budgets from other capital projects.

“We can’t see delays to these smaller road projects, communities need to see these upgrades delivered. The Minister for Transport has serious questions to answer if there are delays to minor road upgrades”, concluded Councillor O’Shea.