To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether the new road maintenance strategy will prioritise those local council areas which have the highest number of road defects.

The new approach to how the road network is maintained will focus on delivering higher-quality repairs instead of spreading resources too thinly, ensuring a more reliable and safer road network where we intervene. It will be data driven and supported by sound engineering judgement and address the problem in a meaningful and sustainable manner.

In distributing the resources available for road repairs and resurfacing programmes, allocations relating to the areas covered by the Department’s four Roads Divisions will continue to be made on the basis of need, using a range of weighted indicators tailored to each maintenance activity. The Divisions also use a range of indicators when apportioning budget across District Council areas to ensure, as far as possible, an equitable distribution of funds according to need.