And that the chief executive of the National Roads Authority would say this out loud is a major break with tradition, although ordinary motorists who use the roads have been saying it for decades.
Fred Barry was speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport. He told the committee that many national and secondary roads are simply 'not up to standard'.
It would be refreshing if the NRA's appearance before the Committee was a voluntary one. But it only came about as the result of campaigns by families of road accident victims from various parts of the country.
Mr Berry said the main problem was funding, along with inadequate resources and training in local authorities who are responsible for the maintenance of the road network at local level.
He also suggested that too many state agencies are involved in managing the roads. Along with the NRA he noted that the Road Safety Authority, the National Transport Authority, the Department of Transport and individual local authorities all have various responsibilities for the network.
This, he said, can lead to a 'confusion' about responsibilities.
(Our pictures here show the aftermath of just two of dozens of accidents at Thompsons Cross, Kilcullen, at a brand new junction opened in late 2009 as part of the M9 extension works. Fortunately, nobody has yet died, but local gardai say it is only a matter of time. Local people have campaigned over inadequate signage, poor alignment, and bad visibility at the junction. In December, the NRA agreed to fund more signs and public lighting, but locals say a full rethink of the junction is needed.)
