Cork lost out on €273m roads funds since ’08

REGIONAL and local roads in Co Cork have lost out on funding of €273m since 2008, Cork County Council’s director of roads, Niall Healy, told councillors at a meeting of the local authority this week.

The €273m was the accumulated total of what would have been allocated to Cork County Council had the level of funding of 2008 been maintained until this year, according to an analysis by Cork County Council officials.

Some €69.99m was allocated in 2008, and it had fallen to €43.88m the following year, and to €29.65m by 2016.

Since then, it has increased to €70.19m, including €13m for damage caused by Storm Babet.

It will cost €55m to repair damage caused by the storm, particularly in East Cork, and Mr Healy said that a programme of work costing €26m had been scheduled for 2024, but that only €13m had been allocated by the Department of Transport.

Mr Healy described Storm Babet as a “major milestone” in the impact of climate change on local authorities.

“It’s going to take us quite some time to find a way through bringing the road network back up to an acceptable standard in the areas where damage occurred,” Mr Healy said.

A further €16m worth of damage had been caused to national roads in Cork.

The programme of work for 2024 had been divided into four tranches, after a survey of the entire county.

“Tranche one is valued at €6m and that is actually under way; tranche two is valued at €8m and we expect that to be developed over the next couple of months, and that totals €14m; we have funding to make that happen,” Mr Healy said.

“Tranche one and tranche two are funded. Tranche three and tranche four amount to another €12m. That’s where we’re looking for funding support from the department.

“As of now, that funding isn’t in place, but we do have the work programme in place, we do have designs lined up, we do have contractors lined up, so we’re hoping that we will have a funding commitment of €26m from Government and we’re confident that we will have delivered that extent of work on the ground as well,” he said.

More than €11m of works had been procured so far this year and €6m worth had been completed, he said, and the works were ongoing across the council’s eight municipal districts.

East Cork Fine Gael councillor, Michael Hegarty, described as “disappointing” that only €13m of the €55m sought for the repair of regional and local roads had been allocated.

Mr Healy also referred to specific roads, such as the Mallow Relief Road, which, to the disappointment of north Cork councillors, had been allocated just €300,000 this year, which, according to Mr Healy, was not enough to bring it to planning stage.