Potholes have come to symbolise the failure of government, both local and national, in many parts of rural Ireland. There will therefore be a widespread welcome for the measures announced yesterday by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, which are designed to tackle the degradation of the non national road network. They introduce a much more effective method of funding and overseeing improvements for these roads, which have been neglected in recent years as the national network was improved, together with a range of incentives to encourage local authorities and communities to contribute to their upkeep.
Mr Howlin explained that most of the non national road network was built with very thin pavements, which were never designed to carry the "kinds of traffic generated by industrial, forestry and tourism development and the changes in agriculture, agribusiness, and the rural economy generally which have come about in the last fifteen years". Heavier and larger lorries are a particularly lethal factor, together with the combination of bad weather conditions and official neglect in recent years. As Mr Howlin put it, these failures have led to widespread disillusionment and public apathy, which brings the credibility of the entire local government system into question.
Whether its credibility will be restored by these changes is a moot question, however. A glance at the changing pattern of local and national expenditure on, these roads over the last ten years shows how dramatically the balance has tilted in the national direction. The whole procedural thrust of the package announced by the minister emphasises the role of national controls over local government. The same applies to other categories of administration and expenditure in what has become one of the most: centralised states in Europe. Mr Howlin asked yesterday whether there was the political will to change this pattern. He noted that a study was under way into the funding of local government; but despite being written into the programmes of this and the previous coalition it is difficult not to conclude that devolution is still accorded much too low a priority.
Mr Howlin acknowledged the role of funds from the European Union in the allocation. He has a highly developed sense of subsidiarity at the national level, as was shown in his decision to approve the Mutton Island sewerage plant in Galway despite the absence of Brussels funding. Looking ahead it can be seen that it may well be necessary to think much more seriously about changing the patterns of Irish government as this State, which is defined as one Objective 1 region, rises above the income threshold for structural funding.
The need to maximise the flow of EU money, including funds for the road system, will force the debate on decentralising government. The prospect of an end to the structural funds could have just as much a catalytic effect as had the election of pothole candidates in Cavan and other marginal constituencies in the last few years, which forced the political establishment to confront the problem. In the meantime, and despite these reservations, yesterday's announcement deserves a wholehearted welcome.