Inadequate funds available for gritting, say councillors

LOCAL AUTHORITIES:AS LOCAL and regional roads continue to bear the brunt of the cold snap, members of city and county councils have said Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey is wrong in his assertion that the Government has provided adequate resources to deal with the problem.

A spokesman for the Minister said that funding had been provided in local authority allocations. He said that a circular had been issued as far back as last November, warning the authorities to prepare for icy conditions and the need to grit roads.

While the spokesman could not say how much money had been allocated for gritting, he said there was a process under which local authorities could apply for additional money if necessary.

However, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Emer Costello, and Cllr Michael Fitzgerald president of the Association of County and City Councils, insisted local authorities had neither the staff nor the money or equipment to adequately grit regional local roads.

Both politicians said the Minister was “just wrong” in his assertion that they had been given resources to deal with the problem.

The local authority representatives were speaking as the AA confirmed that local and regional roads were among those worst affected by the snow and ice.

The organisations said that while priority had been given to gritting national primary roads, these amounted to just about 5 per cent of the State’s road network.

The Republic had a much larger percentage of secondary and rural roads on its network than many other European countries, the AA noted.

The National Roads Authority said it had an “advisory” role in ensuring local authorities were able to keep national roads open, but had no role in relation to regional and local roads.

A spokesman said he was aware of severe weather conditions causing problems in counties Roscommon, Galway, Donegal, Sligo, Offaly, Kildare, Meath, Tipperary, parts of Dublin and parts of Wicklow.

He said local authorities would have used about two-thirds of the normal winter salt usage between the start of December and the second week in January.

He reiterated the authority had no role in relation to regional and local roads, but said he was aware they were in many cases now more treacherous than national roads.

Mr Fitzgerald, a former chairman of South Tipperary County Council and the South East Regional Authority, said “there are funding and staff issues in most local authorities. It is totally wrong to say local authorities have the resources. They don’t have staffing. I heard the Minister had said they did, but he is just wrong.”

Mr Fitzgerald cited his own electoral area of Tipperary town which he said had lost 13 staff in the recent past, none of which had been replaced because of funding cuts. He was aware of many families on local roads who had been isolated for days, he said.

In Dublin, the Lord Mayor said the priority was to keep the main and bus routes open, but while she said eight gritting lorries were out from 3.30am every day, and on Saturday night had spread 80 tonnes of grit and salt, it was not enough.