At least an additional €163 million is needed each year to maintain the road network in Ireland to a safe standard, according to Fianna Fail.

Spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport Robert Troy TD urgently called on the government to invest in infrastructure and described the state of local and regional roads as "dreadful".

He said: "A recent report carried out by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) found that almost 70% of regional roads have serious structural and surface defects. This has led to serious safety concerns for road users and increased maintenance costs to motorists.

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"Over the last five years the Government has on average provided Local Authorities with less than half the amount of funding they need to maintain their roads. This is despite a commitment made in the Programme for Government to increase the capital budget for regional and local roads by approximately 50%. The Government has failed to deliver on this commitment and the end result is terrible surface conditions for road users’ right across the country."

(CD/MH)