Sinn Fein councillor Ciaran McLaughlin has said the government’s proposal to “carry out road repairs on the cheap must be scrapped”.
The Buncrana Town Cllr said this government has reached a new low by asking local people to put forward 20-50% of funding, including free labour, to ensure their roads are repaired.
“There are serious questions about health and safety as well as potential job losses to be answered.
“Essential repairs to our roads must be carried out by those trained in this specialist work. To expect local communities to fund raise to repair their roads is a terrible indictment on this government. People pay taxes to cover the cost of road repairs and other essential services.The scheme must be immediately scrapped.”
Cllr McLaughlin said if this government cannot fund local government to repair roads they have to look no further than the mirror.
“This government has slashed local government funding from €210m in 2011 to €24m this year. On top of this the government took a further €150m out of the motor tax fund to pay off the foreign debt. These cuts have led to the crisis that is at the heart of local authorities in Ireland today.”
Mc Laughlin concluded “Minister Kelly’s government has cut spending on road maintenance from €1.258 billion in 2011 to €750m this year. Expecting local people to plug the gap is disgraceful. The less well-off communities will once again bear the brunt of this government’s mismanagement of our resources. This is a recipe for disaster.”