A bumpy road for Minister

Monaghan County Council’s elected members are seeking a meeting with Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien TD to discuss the funding needed for the medium and long-term maintenance of the regional and local road network in the county.

The meeting was proposed at the Council’s March meeting by Sinn Féin councillor Noel Keelan, with seconding from party colleague Sinéad Flynn.

Cllr Keelan said a major uplift had been expected in the recently announced road allocations from central government as recent storm events had played havoc with the county’s roads and the council seems to always be in reactive mode with the roads in a constant state of crisis.

“The cost of doing road works has increased 100% in the last 10 years,” he highlighted.

Cllr Flynn said that outdoor staff in the Ballybay-Clones Municipal District area had dealt with over 200 roads-related incidents in recent months because of the poor weather. Entire stretches of road surface are now breaking down in some locations.

Chief Executive Robert Burns informed the meeting that the Council had received over €27.3M in the recently announced road allocations. While the general figure is 4.5% down on last year, there had been significant increases in elements such as road restoration and improvement.

He also pointed out that, since the allocation was announced, the Department of Transport has awarded a further €450,000 to Monaghan for a roads pilot project in Ballinode. The council is also set to receive €250,000 to lead out on a national website project, and €70,000 is being given for the council’s reclaimed asphalt project initiative.

Mr Burns said the department has been extremely positive and supportive of the council’s new road maintenance strategy. “I am quite confident that we will get a significant allocation, perhaps in the region of €1.6M to €1.8M, to implement the strategy, but this sum hasn’t appeared in the recent national figures because it is a separate scheme for Monaghan County Council,” he explained.

The new strategy, he continued, aims to generate cost savings through the use of different road repair and maintenance methods. The fact elected members had approved an allocation of €500,000 in the 2026 Budget had proven most persuasive to the department.

Mr Burns expressed his gratitude for the funding but expressed some frustration at having to plan for road programmes without knowing what funding levels will be forthcoming.

“It would be much better if we had the line of sight that comes from having multi-annual programmes, even if this only involved core funding figures,” said Mr Burns, adding the council submitted a €1.6M bill to the department based on the severe weather damage to their roads from recent storms.

However, Mr Burns cautioned that the programme will not be akin to the “pothole blitz” carried out in the county prior to the 2024 local elections and will not consist of “throwing buckets of stuff into holes”.

“We need a more evidence-based and considered process,” he said.

Cllr Richard Truell (FG) proposed that the department of reviews current pothole repair practices, implementing a better repair strategy that is more resilient to adverse weather.

He added that he wanted to see another countywide “pothole blitz” using proper materials and methods. “There are holes in some of our roads at present that you could bury cars in,” Cllr Truell declared.

Cllr Seán Conlon (SF) said it has become evident that roads are fragmenting because of excessive rain. “There must be a more innovative repair approach taken,” he said.