With local authority finances in dire straits, the need for a special fund for roads will be required. Economist and Waterford man Jim Power recently pointed out that the roads would have to be improved ahead of the tourist season. How will it be paid for? Will some extra road tax be needed or a temporary fuel
Levy? In Britain they reckon that there are over 1.5 million potholes and we must have hundreds of thousands.
The budget cost estimated to fix them in Britain is €30 billion and if we were just ten per cent of that cost it would be €3 billion, a massive cost and money the government does not have. A start would be to make an assessment of the damage and this, no doubt, is underway in many local authorities. Many motorists in the meantime are suffering damage. They will need to drive more slowly especially in the dark. Garages are getting a little boon from the potholes business as well as tyre and exhaust shops. An ill wind can do some good some it seems.
