High fuel prices could reduce road works

Higher fuel prices could reduce the amount of road works that can be carried out this year, councillors were warned last week.

Borris-in-Ossory Area engineer, Michael Malone, told local councillors that the price they had estimated per square metre may change as fuel prices increase.

“It may impact on the bottom of the programme, but hopefully it will be only 300 metres or 400 metres on a road. We won’t know until the tenders come back,” he said.

Cllr Michael Lalor, asked for drainage to be carried out at Clonin near Joe Doran’s field, where water lodges on the road, He asked if the costs of the roads would not balance out because of lower wages.

But the area engineer said he was afraid that the price of road strengthening would go from €10 to €12 per square meter.