Milions of euro generated through road taxes in Clare are not being spent on Clare roads.
Clare FM can reveal that over ten million euro was spent on road tax here last year than was allocated to the county for its roads:
The government itself states that Revenue from road tax is used to “maintain and upgrade the road network in Ireland.”
And the need for these works here is not in doubt – the Council itself has long-since argued that its funding levels have been insufficient in recent years.
But despite this, Clare FM can reveal that millions of euro of road tax revenues that are raised in Clare, aren’t being spent on our roads.
Last year, just under 28 million euro was paid by Clare drivers on road taxes, and the figure for this year was approaching 23.5 million by October.
But in contrast, only 17 million has been allocated to the Council for works on roads this year, and last year’s figure of 17.7 million include an extra allocation of 3.6 million in respect of storm damage.
It means that since the beginning of last year, 16.75 million euro in road taxes raised in Clare was not spent on Clare’s roads.
Some of the funding does go elsewhere – the NRA would get a relatively minor allocation for maintaining the section of the M18 motorway in Clare, but these figures will undoubtedly anger those who feel more money is needed to maintain and improve roads here.
Clare FM has sought comment from the Department of Transport on this issue and is awaiting a response.