An increase in funding for local roads is set to be announced for Cavan and Monaghan later this month.
That's according to the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien.
Speaking in the Dáil this morning, local TD Matt Carthy asked the minister if there would be a "substantial" increase in road funding in 2026 for the local region.
Deputy Carthy claimed that the "state of local roads has never been as bad".
He called for further funding to be allocated to increase the quality of the road network across Cavan and Monaghan.
The Sinn Féin TD explained the difficulty faced by drivers in the local area.
Deputy Carthy told Minister O'Brien: "Here is the difficulty, I recently visited a number of local roads, one close to the town of Ballybay, and one close to Castleblayney in recent weeks. The roads are in a terrible condition.
"Dealing with the local authority, the best they can do in the short term, is patching work. In many ways it is economically crazy, but it has to be done.
"The best case scenario under the current trajectory is that it could take five or even six years before those roads are going to be properly restored.
"The people in those areas have seen the cost of their insurance increase. They are paying their road tax, they have seen the cost of petrol and diesel being increased by your government on an annual basis. They're asking themselves what are they getting for all of this, if they can't even drive to their local school without risking bursting the suspension on their car," Deputy Carthy added.
In his response Minister O'Brien told Deputy Carthy that he "wasn't being evasive" to the question the Monaghan TD asked.
He explained that he intends to provide a further increase in funding later this year, but that he isn't currently in a position to provide a figure.
Minister O'Brien said: "There will be a further increase. Your definition of substantial and mine might be slightly different. I don't have a figure yet, I don't have a draft report yet.
"When I do, it will be considered. We will work with our local authorities. The funding increases last year were significant. What has been good to see is that local authorities have been able deploy those resources.
"I think, Deputy Carthy, you would acknowledge as well, this situation isn't going to be fixed in one year. We've got to be able to continually on a phased basis, and in a structured way, be able to increase that funding," Minister O'Brein explained.
