The SDLP has called for a major shakeup of structural roads maintenance funding following a damning Audit Office report.

It found that decades of funding shortfalls are having a deteriorating effect on the condition of Northern Ireland's road network.

A patchwork approach has also been taken in the absence of an Executive.

SDLP South Down MLA Sinead Bradley said that public safety must be prioritised and also highlighted last year's Barton Review which described a "volatile, even bizarre approach to structural maintenance".

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She said: "People using our roads every day know what it's like navigating a minefield of potholes. The patchwork approach to date simply isn't working and it's more expensive than a robust resurfacing programme in the long run. Senior officials themselves would admit to these shortcomings.

"What's needed is a fundamental rethink about roads funding in the North. That means looking at new methods of life-cycle costing for surfacing projects, examining how we reduce congestion and reduce the number of vehicles on our roads to improve surface lifetimes and considering alternative funding mechanisms. These are significant changes that need political and ministerial leadership. Our roads cannot continue to be a casualty of political failure."

(CM/JG)