A crater that opened up on the site of an old mine in Co Monaghan was detected 10 days before a decision was taken to close the adjacent road on safety grounds.

Only a small fraction of the local council budget for repairing local and regional roads has actually been spent this year.

There needs to be a significant increase in investment for local and regional roads, according to Fianna Fáil.

A key section of the main road from Cork City to West Cork is set to close for two consecutive weekends for major culvert works.

Extensive fibreoptic cables are to be laid down in advance of the €100m upgrade of the Jack Lynch Tunnel/Dunkettle interchange to give motorists real-time information on the project.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross has increased funding for the upkeep of regional and local roads in County Cork for the first time in several years.

A Fine Gael TD says “a gross injustice has been perpetuated by successive governments” on motorists in Cork who are subsidising road repairs in other counties while they watch their own crumble.

Despite strong warnings that Kerry’s road network will deteriorate further, funding for the county council’s 2014 roadworks programme has been slashed by 34%.

The worst main street in the country is finally to get a €2 million makeover.

He’s seen his fair share of bad roads during a lengthy mining career which took him around the world.

The head of the National Roads Authority (NRA), the IFA, and a county manager have added their voices to the growing clamour about the need to pour money into repairing the country’s roads before they fall apart.

Road L7046 in the heart of rural east Kerry could be in the running for the dubious record for having the most potholes per metre.