School bus services under threat on Tipp/Offaly border

The decline in the condition of the roads on the North Tipperary and Offaly border, which is known as the Lower Ormond electoral area, was raised in the Dáil by Laois-Offaly Fianna Fáil Deputy Barry Cowen.

He said he recently attended a meeting in the village of Rathcabbin where he said various speakers said they had been informed in the preceding days by schools in the areas of Birr and Roscrea that school transport providers and bus companies were seriously considering withdrawing their services because of the terrible state of the roads in the area.

“We also heard from many business owners in the area,” he said. “It was explained that suppliers were ringing them in advance of deliveries and asking that people meet in locations three miles from their place of business, again because of the unfortunate state of the roads.”

Deputy Cowen said it is predominantly a rural farming area which depends on a major form of infrastructure to carry out their daily business and social and economic lives, such as bringing children to school and whatnot. “It is becoming a very dangerous chore and impinges on livelihoods, cars and so forth,” he said. “Unfortunately, over time, very little has been spent. I have submitted many parliamentary questions to the Departments of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is plain to see that the recovery has not taken hold in many rural areas but it has very little chance of taking hold if infrastructure is not put in place or brought up to the sort of level that people would expect.”

In reply, Minister of State Jimmy Deenihan said State funding for regional and local roads in 2008 was €604 million while funding last year was €320 million. “In this context, it is important to reiterate that the purpose of Exchequer funding is to supplement the own resources spending of local authorities, and the Minister has been emphasising to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources, including revenue from local property tax receipts,” he said.

“Local authorities are aware that it is a matter for each council to determine its priorities and to allocate funding accordingly,” he said. “Given funding constraints, the Minister’s objective has to be to allocate funding to local authorities on as equitable a basis as possible. The main grant categories are, therefore, based on road lengths in each local authority's area of responsibility. The division of Department grant moneys under the restoration improvement, restoration maintenance and discretionary grant programmes between various local authority districts is decided at local level.”