The cost of repairing local and regional roads damaged during Storm Chandra and the following wet weather could cost almost €59 million, the local authorities worst hit have said.
Storm Chandra brought strong winds, heavy rain and widespread flooding at the end of January, primarily to the east and south east.
Eight local authorities were identified by the Department of Transport as being particularly impacted by the storm.
These were Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford City and County, Wexford, Wicklow, Laois, Louth and Monaghan.
There was a probability of damaged roads in other counties, the department added.
The Department of Transport said that over 300 roads were damaged and around 50 impassable during the storm.
Each of the eight local authorities were contacted by RTÉ News and the combined estimated repair cost was €58.9m, they said.
Together, they reported 525 damaged roads.
Wexford County Council had the highest estimated repair cost at €20 million for the 157 roads damaged there.
The Government is committed to assisting affected local authorities with financial support to assist with the aftermath of storm Chandra, the department said in a statement.
Roads still impassable weeks after storm
In Co Monaghan, 55 roads were impacted by flooding after Storm Chandra, with 16 still flooded - the highest number of roads still impassable of the eight counties.
The majority of the damage was in south Monaghan.
"There was extensive flooding throughout the county and we're still feeling the impacts four weeks later," said senior engineer at Monaghan County Council Kevin West.
Co Monaghan has the second highest density of roads in the country and 96% of the roads are regional and local, said Mr West, which puts a dependency on the local roads network.
"There’s about 60% - 70% of the population living in rural communities. So any impact on the local and regional roads will be really felt," he said.
The full extent of the damage will not be known until the floods clear, said Mr West.
"There’ll be further assessments needed when the water subsides, including of bridges, to see what the long-term impacts of flooding will be. It is a considerable bit of work to be done over the next six to eight weeks to try and rectify damage from the flooding," he said.
Eileen McGuinness lives around 4km from Carrickmacross. Her road was flooded during Storm Chandra and now that the water is receding, the damage is noticeable on a road that, she said, was already in poor condition.
"The flooding has created more potholes in the road. It’s virtually impassable now," she said.
At the peak of the storm, she said that she had to take a 6km diversion to reach the town.
South Monaghan has been in a deficit in roads funding for a long time before the storm, which is adding to the issue, said Cathaoirleach of Monaghan County Council, and Fianna Fáil councillor in the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District, PJ O’Hanlon.
"If we were to fix every road [in the municipal district] and bring it up to a standard, we would need €28 million in the morning. The allocation that we received for roads improvement this year is approximately €2.2m. For us just to stay the same, we need €4m," he said.
Ireland lags behind mainland Europe in the powers given to local authorities, said Mr O’Hanlon.
"The Government need to take a big serious step in relation to this. Give more power to the councillors, more power to the local authorities, more funding and this will be improved," he said.
