Fianna Fáil has hit out over motor tax money being used to "prop up" Irish Water.

Galway East TD Colm Keaveney said it is "unacceptable" and should be used to repair roads in the county which remain impassable due to the snow.

Deputy Keaveney said: "Just last week it was revealed that Galway residents paid over €64m in motor tax in 2014. A significant amount of this has been handed over to Irish Water to help cover the costs of its lavish set-up.

"Despite this we have a situation today where many roads across County Galway are impassable because they were not treated overnight to prevent the build-up of snow and ice.

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"Schools across the county have faced significant disruption as children and teachers have been unable to travel on the road network. There has also been major disruption for businesses as workers have been forced to stay at home and deliveries have had to be cancelled.

"This has had a detrimental impact on the economy across Galway. It is simply astounding to think that Galway County Council is being forced by the government to hand over motor tax money to Irish Water while at the same time being unable to treat the road network to make it safe to travel on.

"It is unacceptable that Galway residents are seeing a significant portion of their motor tax money being handed over to fund Irish Water, while at the same time their road network has effectively been shut down. The current spell of bad weather had been forecast well in advance by Met Éireann."

(CD)