Aontú Senator Sarah O'Reilly has voiced her concerns over the worsening condition of roads in Cavan-Monaghan.
Senator O'Reilly raised the issue in the Seanad with the Minister of State and warned that funding is nowhere near enough to tackle years of neglect.
The local representative says local roads are so battered that people's stomachs turn at the thought of driving them.
While money might have gone up on paper, she warned that it's not stretching the same.
Senator O'Reilly believes current levels of funding are simply "patching over the problem" and it needs to be urgently increased.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Senator O'Reilly said: "We’re maintaining the same number of kilometres as we were ten years ago, even though the funding has almost tripled. Inflation has eaten the increase."
She also highlighted the surge in traffic, with over a million more vehicles on Irish roads since 2015: "We have a million more cars on the road than we did in 2015 and it’s not a coincidence that Cavan the highest NCT failure rate in the country. Steering and suspension issues are soaring because the roads are literally wrecking cars."
Senator O'Reilly said current levels of funding are simply patching over the problem and it needs to be urgently increased: "In Cavan we saw a shortfall in funding of €95 million for road maintenance between 2008 and 2023. The Government must appreciate that when you see such a significant drop in funding for 15 years that any maintenance following this will be patchwork at best. I'm asking on the Minister to commit to increased funding for roads in Cavan and Monaghan."
