Over €33 million for Laois roads but inflation creates roadblock

Despite a €2 million increase in Laois County Council’s roads budget for next year, inflation will continue to put pressure on funding for Laois’ road network.

The Council passed its 2027 Budget on Monday, November 9. The budget provides for a total expenditure of €140,706,698, which is an increase of 5.8% on the 2026 budget.

Road Transport and Safety received one of the biggest funding allocations in the budget.

A total of €33,793,707 was allocated for roads in Laois, which was a significant increase of over €2 million from the 2026 Budget.

However, despite the increase, the Council has warned that inflation will not see the money go further.

Head of Finance at Laois County Council, Julie Bergin, said that “inflation continues to erode our spending capacity and absorb additional income simply to maintain our existing services.”

Indeed, the Council stated in this year’s road budget: “In recent years budget provision for such services has not kept pace with inflation and general increases in costs. This discrepancy was partly addressed in Budget 2026 and Budget 2027 continues to redress that imbalance, ensuring that MD Offices continue to fulfill their critical role.”

A budget of €31 million was set out this year for the road network in Laois. However, the Council announced in May that less road works would be completed across the county in 2026 due to the rise in material costs.

Director of Services at Laois County Council, Simon Walton, notified councillors that due to a 10% to 15% rise in costs from tenders that the budget may not be able to cover all works.

With this in mind, Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanely queried whether the 2027 Budget would be sufficient given the soaring costs.

“We realised halfway through the year that the budget was practically gone. Are we allocating enough money for our roads because what we don’t want to hear is halfway through 2027 that the budget is gone,” the Portlaoise Councillor said.

The 2027 Budget included a detailed breakdown of where money would be spent on the county’s road network.

Over €6 million has been allocated for the maintenance and improvement of regional roads, while almost €15 million will be spent on the maintenance and improvement of local roads.

The overall €33.7 million figure also includes other areas such as public lighting, which is up for over €100,000 to €1.5 million, and school wardens, which has been granted over €99,000.

Over €534,000 has also been allocated to car parking in Laois. This figure covers the maintenance and management of carparks, the operation of street parking, and enforcement.