Additional funding of €30m for regional and local roads has been announced by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers.

The funding will deal specifically with the impact of climate change, which has contributed to a deterioration in the surface quality of certain parts of the network over the winter months.

The emergency investment will assist in addressing the worst affected areas of the road network following persistent rainfall over winter and spring.

Persistent wet conditions, as was experienced earlier in the year, can cause damage such as the development of potholes or pavement collapse.

Funding allocation

The funding is to be distributed among local authorities based on road lengths per region, as extreme rain affected areas throughout the country.

The Dublin local authorities self-fund road maintenance and improvement works from the receipt of local property taxes, so have not been allocated funding under this scheme.

They will maintain and renew local and regional roads in their areas from their own budgets.

Cork County Council will receive the largest sum of money, with over €3.7m allocated. Galway County Council will receive over €2m.

Mayo and Donegal County Councils have been allocated over €1.9m each.

“Keeping our road network safe is a priority for me and this Government. Climate change, like the prolonged rain we saw this past winter and spring, has a damaging impact on our road surfaces which has to be addressed quickly, so that it does not lead to further deterioration,” Minister Ryan said.

“Through this additional funding, local authorities can begin to restore the impacted regional and local road network, along with building resilience into the network in an ever-changing environment.”

Minister Chambers said that “protecting and improving the existing road network is fundamental for road safety and for connecting people and places across the country”, and that “prompt restoration of the impacted road network is essential from a safety perspective, as well as maintaining key social and economic connections”.