John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

The proposer of the topic will have 15 minutes. All other Members who wish to speak will have approximately 10 minutes.

Tommy Gallagher (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

The Adjournment topic is the declining budget for roads maintenance in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which, as Members know, is the most westerly constituency. I notice that the Minister for Regional Development has joined Members for the debate. I am sure that he will listen and may well respond later.

In previous Assembly debates in which Fermanagh and South Tyrone has been discussed, two issues are always highest on the list of priorities: employment and roads. It is no surprise that roads are a priority in an area that has no railways and is poorly served by public transport. Due to heavy reliance on cars, therefore, especially in Fermanagh, the state of the roads is a major issue for local communities. The great majority of the working population travel daily to towns such as Enniskillen and Omagh. People must make round trips of 40 miles or more.

Over the past 10 years, the condition of the roads has deteriorated badly. From time to time, I visit local offices to talk to staff about problems with the maintenance of the road network. I refer to the Department for Regional Development’s (DRD) figures for recent years, which show that spending on structural maintenance in County Fermanagh in the financial year 2003-04 was £3·48 million. In 2005, it was down to £2·4 million. In 2006, it was down to £2·05 million. In 2007, it was £2·16 million. In 2008, it was £2·14 million. Although there had been a steady decline in spending throughout those years, there was a marked drop in the most recent financial year, which ended in March 2009, and was down to £1·49 million.

For rural communities, the issue, of course, is not simply about access to employment, it is about access to health services, hospital services, education facilities and, nowadays, banks and post offices. Access to those services is a big challenge. There is growing anger and frustration among local people about the decline in the state of the road network. They are angry that the issue, which is so important to many people, does not get the attention that it deserves from the Department for Regional Development. I have given the figures for the past six years to underpin the anger that is relayed to me and to other elected representatives.

Unrepaired potholes are a common cause of serious damage to new and old vehicles, regardless of their age. On almost a weekly basis, I receive a complaint in my office about a car that has hit a pothole or a rut in a road. Often, the complaint is accompanied by photo­graphic evidence of damage and, indeed, of cavern-like potholes along some of the roads.

In 2008, the impact of potholes on cars was highlighted after a UK-wide survey was conducted by Warranty Direct. Its report found that potholes caused one in every three cases of mechanical failure in cars. The average cost of repairing the damage to the car was £285. As I said, that was a UK-wide report and the figure is a UK average. However, I have no doubt that the average for Fermanagh and South Tyrone for that kind of problem is considerably higher, due to the poor state of its roads.

The Department’s failure to maintain rural roads is an example of a policy that is penny wise and pound foolish. The cost of repairing roads that have fallen into disrepair will be a much greater strain on the public purse. What is of more importance is that the roads are dangerous and the rate of accidents and deaths, as has been clearly stated in several reports, is higher than the average in border areas.

There is one further issue: equality. Road users in Fermanagh and South Tyrone contribute to the regional rate and they pay their motor taxes; we are therefore entitled to have roads that are well maintained and safe for all who use them.

Lord Morrow (DUP)

I welcome this important debate on the roads infrastructure and conditions in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and Mr Gallagher is to be congratulated for securing it.

(Mr speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in..." class="glossary">Deputy Speaker [Mr Molloy] in the Chair)

As a Member for the constituency, I am acutely aware of the impact of poor road maintenance and inadequate roads infrastructure. I have often voiced my concerns in the House at the attitudes shown to issues in the west of the Province. Those of us who come from the west are accused by our colleagues of being whingers, but, at times, we whinge correctly. There is a perception abroad that the west does not get its fair share in the allocation of funding and, therefore, the whinge will continue until we are content that we are getting our fair share.

For too long, we have been treated as poor relations in comparison to our counterparts in the rest of the Province and, in particular, to those in the east. That also applies to roads infrastructure. I would be remiss in my duty as an MLA if I did not highlight that; I feel that that is the way.

Roads are vital arteries to all areas and communities. Whether major routes or country by-ways, they must be fit for purpose and able to sustain the relevant traffic volume. We look to roads not just for general to-and-fro traffic as citizens but for the provision of goods, emergency responses and access to other services. With so much influential traffic affecting every single person in some way, roads must be maintained to the highest specifications and standards. Second-best or patch repairs are simply not good enough. Fermanagh and South Tyrone demands its right: sound, high-grade infrastructure, locally and on a wider spectrum.

That said, I am delighted to say that it is not all doom and gloom. We can get into the rut of feeling that absolutely nothing is happening or will happen, but it is right to acknowledge some of the things that have been happening. I refer to the much-needed and long-overdue dualling of the A4 from Moygashel to the Ballygawley roundabout; it is good to see it making progress, and I hope that it will be completed on time and on schedule. There has been work on the A32, the Cherrymount Link Road. That is another scheme that has been in the offing for a long time; nevertheless, we recognise that it is moving on. There is also realignment of the A4 at Annaghilla, which, I understand, will probably be operational by the autumn of this year if everything goes according to plan. It is a scheme that must be welcomed and one that will be extremely beneficial to the west. It will certainly open up a good road and take out of existence a very bad stretch of road through the Clogher Valley. The A4 Henry Street in Enniskillen has been successfully widened and is in use. Again, I place on record my acknowledgment of that.

Another scheme has been long in the offing. In another life, I negotiated land settlements, including for land near the Carland Bridge Road, with which I am sure Members are familiar. Although that road is not strictly in South Tyrone, it is close enough that it makes no difference; in fact, at one time, it was considered part of that area.

The Carland Bridge scheme has been on the books since the mid-70s. I recall Roads Service saying that that scheme was imminent when I was negotiating on behalf of clients for the acquisition of land. More than 30 years later, I do not think that that work has even been started. However, at long last, I understand that the plans are at a fairly advanced stage, and I hope that we will see movement there soon.

I appreciate the Minister’s attendance, and I look forward to hearing his comments in response to the debate. Will he provide an update on the provision of a distributor road for Dungannon town? Provision was made for that in the Dungannon town plan and then, all of a sudden, it simply disappeared. At the time, the local council and others were looking for a distributor road to reduce congestion in Dungannon town, but, alas, it has disappeared. It was known as the eastern distributor road. Some of us were not particular about whether the road was going either east or west. However, we were particular about the fact it should distribute traffic in Dungannon. I will be happy if the Minister corrects me by telling me that I have got that wrong and that that is at an advanced stage.

The Enniskillen southern bypass is also under review. County Fermanagh can arguably boast a major tourism initiative. However, that important aspect of its roads system is still only at the review stage. Will the Minister furnish us with an update on that project and where exactly it rests?

Similarly, Fivemiletown, which is an important town that is nestled on the edge of Tyrone and is the gateway to Fermanagh, is only now being considered for a bypass. Again, we look forward to the Minister telling us exactly what stage the plans are at and when the work will commence. That is another vital part of the road network in the west.

Although those major schemes are under review, with the hope of proceeding, it must be accepted that a number of minor roads are in a very poor condition. Mr Gallagher spoke about the incidences of cars slumping into potholes, and I have had heard of similar experiences. Motorists who seek compensation from Roads Service are often told that they cannot have it because an inspection that was carried out on such and such a date allegedly gives Roads Service a way out. It, therefore, feels that it does not have to bear the responsibility for compensating such motorists.

Mr Gallagher is right to say that we can all cite examples of constituents who have shown us photographs, including the date and time that they were taken, of damage caused to their cars on the roads. Recently, in the Killyman area, a pothole caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to a man’s car. However, Roads Service felt that it is was not its responsibility to compensate that motorist. Although I disagreed, its line of thought prevailed.

In January, I asked the Minister to provide figures for the number of compensation claims that Roads Service paid out for vehicle damage on County Fermanagh roads in each of the past financial years from 2003 to 2008. The answers were quite alarming. Although I accept that the DRD portfolio was not with the current Minister over that period, the claims were disproportionately high. The average number of claims processed from 2003 to 2008 works out at 75. The lowest number of claims was 68 in 2005-06, and the peak was 88 in 2007-08.

If that is compared with the cost of repairing the damage, one will be able to estimate the severity of the damage caused to vehicles by roads in County Fermanagh. I stress that those figures are just for County Fermanagh. In the five-year period between 2003 and 2008, the total amount claimed was more than £31,000, and the highest payout — £7,752 — was in 2003-04, followed closely by 2007-08. The balance is almost £2,000 more than the cost of one year’s routine maintenance works on roads across Northern Ireland.

Investment in roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a matter of necessity, and I trust that the Minister will accept that. Among other things, urgent investment in roads is needed in order to avoid such high compensation claims. As a result of this debate, I trust that we will see a different approach to the road infrastructure in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I have raised the issue of rural roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone consistently with the Minister, and I am pleased that he has accepted an invitation to visit that constituency to see some of the roads that we are talking about and the problems associated with them. That visit will give us a chance to discuss issues pertaining to the roads infrastructure. I welcome the Minister’s acceptance that there are challenges in my constituency that need to be addressed.

Members and, indeed, the Minister are aware that there are areas in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, such as Brookeborough, Belcoo and Derrygonnelly, which suffered for decades under direct rule from ongoing neglect and a lack of investment in roads infrastructure and maintenance. One of the starkest images I saw of that was during a presentation from InterTradeIreland that we received in the second mandate. We were shown maps of Ireland, the roads infrastructure and where investment had gone; it was clear that jobs followed roads. Taking that trend to its logical conclusion, it was going to be very difficult to attract investment to Fermanagh and South Tyrone, because of the lack of infrastructure in the constituency. At that time, we were concerned by the lack of infrastructure investment in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Fortunately, the present Minister, Conor Murphy, has recognised the challenges and needs of rural constituencies and has attempted to put right some of the wrongs that were inflicted on my constituency. I ask the Minister whether he accepts that the knock-on effects of not maintaining roads are serious maintenance issues that can lead to much more money needing to be spent on roads that have been neglected. Will he give us a position on rural roads in general and the ongoing maintenance work?

In Fermanagh and South Tyrone, quite a bit of work has been done over the past two years and money has been secured that will, I hope, make a difference. The Minister recently announced an investment of £7 million in the Fermanagh District Council area to mitigate some of the difficulties that we have experienced. The Minister has been at the forefront in raising the issue, at ministerial level, of roads infrastructure and maintenance not only in Fermanagh and South Tyrone but across the Six Counties; we welcome that. Other Members mentioned some examples of good work, and Maurice Morrow gave a significant list, which I will not repeat. As I drive through the constituency, particularly on the A4, I can see the scale of the ongoing work.

The road from Ballygawley that leads into Carrickmore, which the Minister has visited and seen at first hand, is in a particularly bad condition. I hit the biggest pothole that I have hit in a long time on that road; there are some bad roads in Fermanagh but they are equally as bad in Tyrone.

I know that the reclassification of that road is an issue, and I want to ask the Minister whether there are any plans to resurface or upgrade it. It is used by traffic coming from mid-Ulster and going to Aughnacloy and the border, and quite a bit of construction work is ongoing.

Rural roads are often narrow and winding; they may need more maintenance, and, as a result, can be dangerous to walk on. We cannot expect the Minister to have resolved all the problems in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the short period in which he has been in office, but we have to look at the needs of rural communities. That is something that I have raised in the past, with specific reference to the need to ensure that rural roads get a fair and equitable share of funding.

Those Members who have travelled on the back roads, particularly around Lough Erne, will know that the ground there is boggy and wet, and that those roads were obviously never piled. I have used the back roads from Lisnaskea to Derrylin to avoid the worst of the traffic. Having done so while pregnant, I advise Members that they should not go much faster than 40 mph, because they would not come out of it very well.

The fact is that the roads infrastructure in the past was inadequate, so that now we are trying to fix roads that were built on bog and are always going to be difficult to maintain to any kind of standard. Notwithstanding that, maintenance still has to be done, and it must be done throughout Fermanagh and South Tyrone for the benefit of rural road users who are travelling through the constituency or who live in it.

The Minister has other projects in the pipeline, which I welcome. It would be remiss of me not to use this opportunity for a plug; if the Minister has a few pounds going spare at the end of the year, we would like some spent on the Cornamucklagh Road in Augher. There are roads outside the big projects that, if they were improved, would make a huge difference to the people who live in the communities that those roads serve. We would appreciate as much effort as possible being put into roads in our constituency.

We have suffered in the past because roads were built and maintained in the east while we were forgotten about west of the Bann and in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. I hope that the Minister will continue to do the good work that he has already undertaken, and that he will carry out the big infrastructure projects that he is planning, such as the southern bypass. I know that he has appointed consultants to commence route selection for that. We want to encourage people not just to continue to live in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, but to visit and to stay there to set up their businesses. Fermanagh and South Tyrone relies heavily on the indigenous SME sector, and although it will never be overly attractive to foreign direct investment — indeed, that might bring more problems than it is worth these days — we need a decent roads infrastructure in the constituency so that we can maintain the level of jobs that we have and build on those.

I welcome the debate that we have had this evening. I commend the Minister for his interest in doing what he can to improve the roads infrastructure in the constituency, and I look forward to hearing what he has to say about that. Go raibh míle maith agat, a leasCheann Comhairle.

Tom Elliott (UUP)

I thank Mr Gallagher for securing this debate. Ms Gildernew highlighted two roads in particular, one between Ballygawley and Carrickmore and another in Augher. I will not start to name individual roads, or we will be here all evening. There are so many roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone that are badly in need of repair that if we started to name them we would not get through the debate.

I note that in the past year, and in the past few months in particular, hardly any requests have been made for speed ramps or traffic-calming measures in the constituency.

I assume that that is because we have in-built traffic-calming measures on nearly all our roads: they are called potholes. Nearly every road has huge potholes that slow drivers down automatically without the need for speed-ramps. Some areas are in such a serious state that roads are falling away. I understand that over the past two winters, Roads Service has been on the verge of having to close some roads because they were in such a poor condition.

Mr Gallagher highlighted some spending figures; I am not sure whether they relate to Fermanagh and South Tyrone or just Fermanagh.

Tommy Gallagher (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

They are for Fermanagh.

Tom Elliott (UUP)

They give me serious concern. Mr Gallagher said that in 2004, £3·48 million was spent on Fermanagh’s roads; in the year up to 2009, that spend fell to £1·4 million, a drop of 57%. The figures for spend on Northern Ireland’s roads that I obtained from the Minister in March indicate that in the year ending 2004, £82·8 million was spent and in the year ending 2009 £59 million was spent; that is a drop of 29%. Fermanagh’s drop has been one of 57%, whereas the overall drop in Northern Ireland spend has been only 29%. There is a huge and serious imbalance in the drop in spend in Fermanagh compared with other areas. I ask the Minister to look very carefully at that.

According to the Northern Ireland road structural figures for year-end 2008, £77·3 million was spent, and there was a drop of 24% to £59 million this year. That is a drop of 24%, but in Fermanagh, that represents a drop of 30%. That is a huge difference, and I ask the Minister to look directly at it.

Ms Gildernew said that we suffered from many years of lack of investment under direct rule. I agree, but let us not forget that 2003-04 had the highest spend in the past few years. We were not under devolution at that stage; we were under direct rule. Last year, up to 2009, those figures dropped throughout Northern Ireland to £59 million, and in Fermanagh, as Mr Gallagher said, they dropped to £1·49 million. That happened under devolution. I do not want people to think that just because we came out of direct rule badly we are doing much better under devolution. It appears, from these figures, that the opposite is the case.

I would like to highlight the A32, the Omagh to Enniskillen road. Lord Morrow dealt with other issues, which I will not go over again. However, due to the building of the new acute hospital in Fermanagh, it is vital that that road be upgraded as soon as possible. A couple of schemes are under way, but they are not enough.

One part of the A32, between Mossfield and Trory roundabout, has developed cracks that are so bad that the Roads Service has had to pour concrete directly into them. That is not acceptable on an A road; that is not reasonable maintenance by Roads Service. I ask the Minister to look directly at that.

The Bain Report on the decentralisation of jobs did not recommend the decentralising of jobs to Enniskillen because of its poor infrastructure. Roads are a key factor in that. I would not like to think that we in the west will be discriminated against because of poor road infrastructure. I ask the Minister to look at that urgently.

There is also a lack of a reasonable public transport system in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. We rely totally on the roads; even the bus service needs the roads. We do not have a train service, unlike may other parts of the Province. There is a crying need for additional road spend.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Féin)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the maintenance budget for rural roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Inevitably, a number of issues have been mentioned during the debate. I can respond to some of those from my own knowledge. For those issues that relate to smaller local roads and local matters, I will ask my officials to study the Hansard report and make my response in due course. Some of the budget figures that were quoted do not match the figures that I have. I will endeavour to have those figures tested and respond to people if my figures, or theirs, are proved inaccurate.

Maintaining the surfaces and underlying structures of the roads and footways is essential for the social and economic well-being of the North, and it is a high priority for Roads Service. All of the Department for Regional Development’s programmes are under-resourced, and there is no painless solution. The good news is that, from the capital side of the Budget, the roads network will benefit from some £612 million of investment over the three years to 2010-11. That will result in a significant increase in the size of the motorway and dual-carriageway network, which will help to reduce journey times and improve access to urban centres and rural regions.

The ISNI proposals for roads are for investment in excess of £3·1 billion over the 10-year period, including a £400 million contribution from the South for the upgrading of the A5 Derry to Aughnacloy road. That represents a significant increase above the levels that are envisaged in the regional transportation strategy and in the scale of capital investment that is being delivered by Roads Service. The majority of the ISNI investment is earmarked for strategic road improvements on key transport corridors.

Roads Service has consistently given structural maintenance the highest priority and kept other maintenance to a sensible minimum. The Budget that was announced on 22 January 2008 provided structural-maintenance funding of some £56·3 million, £71·8 million and £70·4 million a year during the three-year Budget period, which totals almost £200 million. However, it is accepted that that is around £125 million less than the levels that are recommended by the structural maintenance funding plan across the Budget period of 2008-2011. The out-turn for structural maintenance in 2008-09 was £63 million. Comparative initial allocation figures for the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 were £60·5 million, £45·8 million and £59·7 million respectively. However, successful in-year bidding resulted in out-turns for those years of £70·5 million, £65·6 million and £77·3 million, with a significant portion allocated late in each financial year.

As Members will be aware, Roads Service prepares annual work programmes that cover the development and maintenance of the network and reflect the availability of finances. The work programmes for 2009-2010 have been finalised and, in most cases, presented to the respective district council at the spring meetings attended by Roads Service managers.

I should explain that, in distributing the resources available for road maintenance, allocations are made to the four divisions of Roads Service on the basis of need, using a range of weighted indicators that are tailored to each maintenance activity. Divisions use the indicators when apportioning money across council areas to ensure, as far as possible, an equitable distribution of funds throughout the North. I can, therefore, assure the Member who secured the debate and others who have spoken that his constituency received its fair share of the budget for road maintenance.

The two Roads Service sections whose boundaries closely match those of Fermanagh District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council received a budget of £8·122 million for this financial year. That represents 11·5% of the total structural maintenance budget that is available to Roads Service in 2009-2010. As only 6·3% of the population resides in the combined district council areas, the spend per head is approximately 75% above the average in the North. However, that is understandable, because the combined road network in the two areas represents 13·5% of Roads Service’s total.

As I previously explained to Members, resurfacing is generally undertaken on the basis of priorities that reflect a road’s strutuctal condition and traffic volume. Safety is always the top priority and, therefore, a system of regular inspection by Roads Service is in place to ensure that essential response maintenance is identified and completed as necessary. The key public-safety issue is the repair of defects, and Roads Service has a good track record of meeting the defect response and repair targets that are recognised by the courts in public-liability cases.

Over the past few years, Roads Service has made a considerable effort to resurface and strengthen the main traffic routes across the North, particularly the strategic road network that links the more heavily populated urban areas. It is always the case that, if more funding were available, more resurfacing work could be carried out. In the past three years, the funding for structural maintenance has been more than £50 million short of the level recommended in the regional transportation strategy. However, it is important to consider the situation in the context of correctly managing the overall budget for the North, and that involves assessing competing priorities and making decisions.

In the past three years, a total of £974·1 million was spent on developing and maintaining the road network in the North. Some £531 million was invested in revenue activities, including maintenance, and a further £442·9 million was spent on capital projects.

The investment strategy envisages that, subject to the availability of resources in future Budget rounds, economic appraisals and statutory approvals, some £3·1 billion will be invested in road improvements by 2018. In the three years to the end of March 2011, just over £200 million will have been invested in the structural maintenance of roads. I assure Members that Roads Service will continue, as part of the in-year monitoring process, to make strong bids for additional funding for structural maintenance.

One downside of being a devolved Administration and having full-time Ministers is that the spend of each Department has improved significantly this year. As a result, the amount of money returned to the system at the latter end of the financial year, from which Roads Service traditionally benefited, has been lower than in previous years. The effect of improved spending is that Roads Service does not benefit from the lack of spending by other Departments.

Roads Service has commissioned an important report on the structural maintenance of roads and the required level of funding. That report will help to inform financial planning and is due to be complete by the end of September 2009.

The entire House will agree that maintaining the surfaces and underlying structures of the roads and footways is essential to the social and economic well-being of the North. When the time comes, I hope that Members will support bids my Department’s bids for additional funds for structural maintenance.

I have no problem with debating the issue, and I agree that additional funding is required for structural maintenance. However, the Member who secured the debate belongs to the party that proposed that the Budget be redrafted, but the only two areas that it wanted to receive additional funding were social housing, and training and upskilling. The only way that could have been done was by taking money from other Departments, which, in effect, could have meant less money for the structural maintenance of roads.

When Members argue for more money and resources to be allocated to one particular area, they must ensure that their arguments are consistent. They should not put forward alternative proposals that would result in other Departments receiving less money.

The figures illustrate that the issue of equality has been addressed. In the course of the debate, Maurice Morrow raised several issues connected to the general sense in the west of feeling under-resourced.

When I took up office, I very clearly stated that one of the tasks ahead of me was to rebalance our infrastructure spend between east and west. I certainly intend to pursue that, and I recognise that there has been an imbalance in infrastructure over the years. Some of the biggest road-building projects that we now undertake are in the west.

The Member mentioned the roadworks on the Cherrymount Link and A4 Annaghilla Road. The work at Henry Street in Enniskillen was also mentioned by Gerry McHugh. As far as Carland bridge is concerned, I cannot account for the past 30 years. However, although there was some further delay in relation to legal issues around the contract for that scheme, I am reliably told that the project is very imminent. I have recently driven through the area and I have seen that some preparatory work has started for the scheme. I recognise that it is a very bad bend on the road between Dungannon and Cookstown, and the work is long overdue.

From my memory, I do not think that the Dungannon distributor road is on the cards, but I will ask officials to provide an update on the matter. Maurice Morrow also mentioned the Enniskillen and Fivemiletown bypasses, and Gerry McHugh acknowledged that they are now on the preparatory list. Consultants have already looked at some route options for the Enniskillen bypass, so work in relation to those two schemes is identified in the forward plans for the Department. Consultants have already begun the necessary forward planning for those projects. In relation to some of the other issues that he raised, I will certainly examine the Hansard report and come back to him.

Michelle Gildernew raised the issue of the ongoing effects of underinvestment in structural maintenance. Unless we secure the finances that are required, there is no doubt that that will continue to be an issue. That is why Roads Service has commissioned a report to support the case for securing the necessary finances. The consequence is that the cost would increase in the long term and the quality of the roads would deteriorate further. Increased patching would be required, but that is not a good-practice solution, because patching costs around three times as much as resurfacing. In more serious cases, road foundations can fail and reconstruction can be required at a cost of around five times that of a simple resurfacing scheme. The arguments are all accepted and advanced by Roads Service in relation to trying to secure greater budgets for structural maintenance.

Some rural roads that, effectively, were built for horses and carts are now taking very large agricultural machinery and HGVs. The roads were never built to cope with that, and the sheer volume of traffic has also increased. Roads are trying to cope with conditions for which they were not built, and they are clearly struggling. Unless we secure sufficient money for the maintenance budget, those roads will continue to deteriorate.

Ms Gildernew also mentioned the Ballygawley to Carrickmore road. I have visited that road and seen its condition for myself. I understand that some work was planned for that road, but I do not have all of the detail. However, I will get a response to her in relation to that.

Thankfully, Tom Elliott did not name all of the bad roads in Fermanagh. Kieran McCarthy and Jim Shannon quite often outdo each other by naming all of the bad roads on the Ards Peninsula. He raised issues about the spend figures, which I will certainly have examined. If there is some inaccuracy, or, indeed, if they are correct, we will certainly come back to him.

He also raised the issue of the Omagh to Enniskillen road, for which works are planned. I appreciate that he thinks that more work should be planned for that road. However, substantial works are planned because it is recognised that the new Erne acute hospital will have a significant impact. That is one road that merits future attention, because the issue of Omagh versus Enniskillen is always a very touchy one. I will not have to remind the people who represent that particular part of the world of that fact. However, the better the connections between the two towns, the easier it will be to manage the services between them.

The Member also mentioned the lack of a train service. Again, I agree with him. Obviously, that decision was taken way back in the 1950s by a party that is closer to his own heart than mine, but, nonetheless, it is the system with which we have ended up. It leaves Fermanagh, in particular, very reliant on the roads.

Gerry McHugh raised an issue that many people in here raise. If he attends enough debates, he will hear Members from all over saying that they have the worst roads in the country. I have been on an awful lot of country roads right across the North, and Fermanagh is no better or no worse than other places. I have been on bad roads in County Antrim around Ballymena as well as very bad roads in Fermanagh. South Armagh, the area in which I live and that I represent, also has its share of bad roads.

The councils delivered a presentation to us in Fermanagh about the Sligo to Belfast route. I have raised it with my opposite number, the Minister for Transport in the South, in discussions at North/South Ministerial Council meetings in transport sectoral format. The matter was raised at an engagement that I was at in the Dáil last week, when members of the IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council identified the route as very important to future development. Therefore, the Sligo to Belfast route is on the agenda, it is being talked about and the need for an upgrade is recognised. Of course, there is a question about when resources will enable that to happen. However, the route is acknowledged as one of the key links across the country.

Mr Elliott also mentioned issues related to safer routes to schools, and I am glad that we continue to make improvements where we can.

In summary, the figures speak for themselves. We do not have enough money in the structural maintenance budget. If we had more, we could do more. I look forward to support from Members when these debates, particularly the Budget debates, come up again. At that stage, all the support and advice that I get throughout the year about what we should be spending can be translated into action if Members vote for greater allocations to the Roads Service budget.