Contractors may be used to fix pothole-ridden roads

The country’s largest local authority is considering bringing in private contractors to fill in its potholes because it can’t cope with the workload.

Cork County Council has responsibility for 12,000km of roads — one eighth of the country’s road network. Many of them are pothole-ridden and according to some councillors a number are currently “impassable”.

Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind), said he’d been told last month by council engineers operating in the Mallow electoral area that it could be August before they get around to filling them all in.