€700,000 announced, but more sought, to fix South Roscommon roads

Just days after the NRA announced that it had no money to fix damaged roads in South Roscommon, the government announced late last week that it would spend €700,000 on fixing road surfaces in the area. However this falls short of the €3m in funding which Roscommon County Council has estimated as needed to repair the damage caused during the work. Some local councillors claim that the total cost of fixing the roads will be closer to €5m. Roads in Cam, Dysart, Taughmaconnell and other areas in the south of the country were left badly damaged as a result of their use by heavy goods vehicles during the construction of the N6 dual carriageway from Athlone to Ballinasloe.Last Friday it was announced that, following intervention by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, the NRA had come forward with a package for the repair of roads in South Roscommon. The package includes a six-week road repair programme, to be carried out by the contractor for the N6 Athlone to Ballinasloe project. A further €700,000 is due to be allocated to Roscommon County Council for repair work, and further consultation is set to take place between the NRA, Roscommon County Council, Minister Dempsey and Minister for Housing Michael Finneran. Cllr Trevor Finneran welcomed the announcement last week but said more money would have to be sought for the repair work. 'I welcome these proposals by the National Roads Authority. However, I will continue to press upon the Roads Section of Roscommon County Council to pursue the NRA for further monies,' he said.