NRA Takeover Will Lead To Further Reduction In Road Quality – Sherlock

CORK East Labour TD Seán Sherlock has expressed serious concern that the National Roads Authority is to take control of the Road Maintenance programme for all of Cork County.

“I strongly believe that this is a deliberate move by the Minister for Transport to give control to the NRA so that when the budget is reduced the he can claim that it is not a matter for him. This is an underhand attempt by Fianna Fail to further reduce the roads maintenance programme and make it look like it is not their fault,

In North Cork we have already seen that the NRA has refused to prioritise the N72 and N73 which are national routes. It is now the case that the NRA will be responsible for every other boreen and non-national road. The implication for the loss of control by the department of Transport to this body could be serious for smaller minor roads. It will also have an impact on how public representatives do their job in terms of lobbying for improvements to roads in their area. With no direct line of communication to the Minister this will immediately lesson the government’s accountabilty with regard to the state of our roads. I am fearful that we are entering a new phase whereby roads maintenance will be increasingly privatised and this could see a further reduction in workforce of Cork County Council. More importantly, it will also see a reduction in the standard of roads throughout my constituency which stretches from Mallow to Mitchelstown right across to Youghal and into Cobh.”