Budget cuts may cause rural dilapidation
Not only did the Government confirm plans to rationalise garda stations — it also announced a reduced maintenance spend on local and regional roads, and warned that difficult decisions would be made on how best to allocate funds between different competing demands, including winter maintenance.
And those relying on Government-funded rural transport initiatives face a range of measures “to improve efficiency” and save €0.9m per year, with the warning that there would be no special treatment for the rural transport programme; it should be treated similarly to other State-supported public transport services in the years of cost-cutting to come.
