Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 11 Oct 1995

Vol. 456 No. 7

Adjournment Debate. - Deterioration in Road Network.

Dr. O'Hanlon

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment and I also thank the Minister for coming here to deal with this issue, which is a matter of serious concern.

There has been a deterioration in road conditions as a result of the exceptionally hot weather during the summer; the hottest on record. There is an increased risk of death and injury on our roads because of that deterioration. The problem is not confined to one county and involves a number of stretches of road. The last recorded figures show that 103 people were killed in July and August of this year on our roads. Only 60 people were killed in 1994. Has any research been done into these accidents and those that have occurred since to see how many occurred on these stretches of road?

There are accidents occurring on these stretches of road where the surface is as smooth as the top of a table as a result of the damage caused by the heat. The tar used for roads here is designed for a cold climate. Because of the exceptionally hot weather, the tar came to the surface and the normal road grip disappeared.

There is a problem with a number of sections of our national primary, regional and county roads. After a long dry spell, a road can be dangerous when it rains. Although temperatures have become cooler, these sections of road will cause problems when it rains and the cars will aquaplane much easier than they would normally. The problem will also be aggravated by frost, assuming we get some — it is seldom that we do not have frost in Cavan and Monaghan in winter — and will lead to further accidents.

The solution is to surface dress the roads but we accept that this is not practical at this time of year and that it might not be money well spent. People will be exposed to danger this winter. There are a number of solutions. One is to put down a tarmacadam overlay. In his reply yesterday, the Minister referred to planning or overlaying the road surface with a bitumen bound material and gritting. Warning the people would also be necessary. Will funding be provided as a matter of urgency so that tarmacadam overlay, salting and gritting can take place to ensure our roads are made safer? Will the Minister warn the people of the dangers posed by these sections of road this year by setting up a national programme, perhaps through the National Safety Council or through his Department, as well as encouraging the local authorities to warn the people? They are unaware of this great danger.

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

I thank Deputy O'Hanlon for raising what is an important subject. Through this debate, we might alert people to the dangers he outlined. While we have all enjoyed the exceptional summer weather, the unusually high temperatures have caused some problems on our roads. The surface temperatures experienced were considerably higher than those normally associated with Irish summers. This resulted in the softening of the road binders which, in certain areas, caused the "fatting up" of the binder and the embedment of the chippings; in effect, the chippings sink below the surface with which vehicle wheels come in contact. As a result, there can be a loss of skid resistance and a need for action by the road authority. The solutions naturally depend on the extent of the problems and may include gritting, surface dressing, planning or overlaying the surface with a bitumen bound material.

As a result of the special circumstances which occurred this year, the National Roads Authority — which has responsibility for the strategic management of the national roads programme — is initiating a scrim survey of as much as possible of the network of national roads and the output will assist in determining the 1996 surface dressing programme. The authority normally surveys the entire national primary network annually and national secondary roads on a three year cycle. The results are conveyed to the local authorities who still carry direct responsibility for maintenance works.

Road safety is of paramount importance and every effort must continue to be made to ensure that we all travel on safe road surfaces. However, it is a matter for the individual local authorities to decide how best to address specific local problems and to determine and implement appropriate remedial action in the circumstances of each case.

With regard to the road accident statistics mentioned by the Deputy which, following six months of continuing downward pattern, increased during July and August, I have asked the Garda authorities and my Department to carry out what analysis they can to determine the cause of that unfortunate and unwelcome increase.

Funding for carrying out maintenance works of all kinds on non-national roads is provided by local authorities from their own resources and is heavily supplemented by grants paid by my Department. The Deputy will be aware that I have provided record State funding this year for non-national roads. This amounts to almost £123 million, which exceeds by almost 15 per cent the previous highest total.

Last July I announced that the Government had approved my proposals for a major ten year restoration programme for regional and county roads and I provided an additional £20 million for an immediate resurfacing programme to implement the initial phase of that programme. Qualifying works were to include surface dressing and overlaying existing road pavements with bound or unbound materials. All the indications are that this additional money is being spent productively and well by local authorities and over 1500k of road will benefit from the expenditure involved. This progress is a significant step towards improving the non-national road network. It will result in real benefits to local communities across the country and, I sincerely hope, in greater road safety.

Of the £20 million extra provided last July, £3 million was set aside for maintenance works. The provision would also be of special relevance in considering the problems with which the Deputy is concerned. I hope to announce further details of the restoration programme later this year, including the arrangements for the administration and supervision of the programme.

The Deputy and the House can rest assured that this Government is firmly committed to bringing the condition of regional and county roads up to a satisfactory and safe standard, dealing not only with the problems caused by this year's exceptionally fine summer but also with the serious backlog of improvement work which faced us on assuming office.