EVERY day motorists are braving treacherous conditions on Limerick’s “crumbling” roads.
That’s according to Labour councillor Conor Sheehan, who this week sounded the alarm on the “perilous state of local and regional roads across the city and county”.
According to the City North representative, the recent spate of bad weather has only compounded the problem, leaving roads in a state of disrepair that endangers those who travel on them.
“It’s not just inconvenient, it’s a matter of life and death,” Cllr Sheehan declared.
“We know extreme winter weather conditions have accelerated an already dire situation, but local authorities should have been equipped with the necessary resources.
“The roads are literally crumbling in my own area, the Park Road between Musgraves and the Canal Bridge has a new series of potholes every week and the North Circular Road is in a very poor condition.”
Cllr Sheehan admitted that council engineers are doing their best but they do not have the resources, both staffing and financial, to keep up with current conditions.
“We have only been allocated an €850,000 block grant by the NTA (National Transport Authority) this year compared to well over a million last year and 2.5 million the year before, and this is on central government.”
The Labour Party councillor hit out at Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party in what he deemed as a “dereliction of duty” to provide adequate funding for road maintenance.
”Our local councils are being forced to stretch already thin budgets to cover the costs of repairs, leaving essential services underfunded and communities isolated.
“The new government must wake up to the reality that local and regional roads are crumbling before our eyes and allocate additional financial resources to local councils. We cannot continue to ignore this disaster while driver safety hangs in the balance.”
