Council to use €1.2m of its reserves to fix potholes

Cork County Council is committing €1.2m of its reserves into repairing potholed roads, while it waits to see if the Government will reimburse it for the €2.27m worth of damage done to the roads since Storm Darwin on February 12.

Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Noel O’Connor (FG), said yesterday that he had written a letter a fortnight ago to Environment Minister Phil Hogan, pleading for the reimbursement, but had not yet received a reply.

Tom Stritch, the council’s director or roads, said that officials had now approved bringing in private contractors to help tar the roads as they were so denuded of road staff.