I thank the Minister for coming into the House to listen to my contribution. The ESRI report published in today's newspapers, which states that more money needs to be spent on our roads, is an indication of the views of others, apart from those in Cavan and Monaghan. It is interesting that the ESRI suggests that more money needs to be spent on roads and less on railways and the Dublin transport system.
At recent meetings of Monaghan County Council which dealt with the distribution of moneys available for county roads, it was indicated that work will not be done on 50 per cent of the roads needing repairs in 1994. That statement was made at a time when £10 million was allocated by the Minister for Finance for the refurbishment of Dublin Castle, not to mention all the money spent on the beef tribunal. I understand £200 million will be spent on national primary roads this year, which accounts for 5 per cent of our road network, and approximately £100 million — depending on how much we receive from the European Union — on the other 95 per cent, regional and county roads. Government funding will amount to less than £180 million when EU moneys are taken into account. That amounts to 14 per cent of the £1.3 billion that vehicle owners pay in direct and indirect taxes to keep their vehicles on the road.
Up to 70 per cent of our poultry is produced in County Monaghan and a similar percentage of mushrooms is produced there, but the future of those industries will depend on whether the 40 per cent corporation tax rate is introduced. Dairying and beef production are also important in that area which is also the home of quality furniture. Those sectors create a great deal of employment in the area and they need good roads and an efficient means of transport. In the past five years £550 million was spent on railways and buses, but none of that was spent in the Cavan-Monaghan area. A total of £15.5 million was spent on regional airports but again none of that was spent in the Cavan-Monaghan area. Very little foreign industry located in the area and £4.3 million lottery funds was allocated in 1993, but not one penny of it went to sports or other facilities in the region.
According to engineers' projections, £48 million is required in Monaghan alone to bring roads up to a reasonable standard or approximately £9 million per annum over ten years. In real terms we are receiving about one-third of what we received in 1977. That is why our roads are in such a disastrous condition. In 1977 there were 309 workers working on our roads, and today the figure is 125.
The Minister has the power to do something about the roads in Cavan and Monaghan and something must be done quickly if industry and jobs there are to survive. Most of the jobs in the area are based on the pig, mushroom and poultry industries and general farming and many small factories are located along country roads which are becoming impassable. I acknowledge that the Minister visited those counties early last year but one of the worst roads along which he travelled is not even on the list for repair this year.
The people who live in that area are very depressed about this matter. A producer, who produces eggs for breeding purposes, telephoned me today to say that Contard Lane is not on the list for repair works this year and that a large percentage of the eggs arriving at the hatchery are cracked after being transported on this road.
The condition of the roads results in expense to farmers, industry and people travelling to work. Today we heard the villages in Monaghan and Cavan are dying and if essential repair works are not carried out immediately to the regional and county roads in those two counties the position will deteriorate further. Those counties may be receiving a fair share of money per mile of road or slightly more than the national average, but they do not receive an allocation in respect of railroads or airports. I ask the Minister to give us a break and an opportunity to create jobs and develop industry.
