Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom McNamara says reductions in the annual Regional and Local Roads Allocation received by Clare County Council from Government is seriously impacting on the roads network, particularly in rural parts of County Clare.

The Ennis Municipal District based Councillor was responding to the news that Clare County Council is to receive just under 12 million euro from Government to maintain and improve its local and regional roads during 2014, representing a 2 million euro drop in funding received in January 2013.

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Councillor McNamara said the funding reduction has "drastically reduced" the Council's ability to carry out basic road maintenance work such as road surfacing, hedge cutting, and road drainage clearing.

He commented: "I have spoken with staff from the Council's Road Section and it is clear that, through no fault of their own, the finances simply are not there to regularly undertake even the most basic of road maintenance works. This has led to the deterioration of our roads, particularly in rural areas. For example, in recent weeks I have seen flooding occur on sections of the R474 between Ennis and Miltown Malbay as well as smaller regional and local roads where flooding has not occurred before, such as that experienced recently on the Bushypark Road. This flooding is the result of roadside drains not being maintained and becoming filled with debris. The blocked drains simply cannot cope with the volume of rainwater."

(CD/MH)