John O'Dowd announces £8.1m to fix 'poor' Northern Ireland roads

Minister John O'Dowd said the announcement "represents a significant additional investment in our road network"

An additional £8.1m has been announced to fix the worst roads in Northern Ireland.

Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd said the funding would help "to deliver additional resurfacing schemes and continue to address the poor condition of our road network".

The announcement was made in a written statement to the assembly.

Last week, the Sinn Féin minister announced £1m of additional funding to address the problem of potholes.

Mr O'Dowd said the £8.1m investment "has been made possible through a combination of additional funding from the executive supplemented by a reallocation within my department".

"Members will no doubt agree that it is vital that all available capital budget within my department is fully utilised to deliver much needed investment in our infrastructure, including on the maintenance of our roads.

"Due to a decade of Tory cuts and austerity, and the budgetary constraints faced by my department, the initial capital allocation regrettably fell well short of the amount necessary to maintain the road network to the required standard."

More than 25,000 potholes were reported in Northern Ireland last year, more than double than the previous year.

There have been almost 120,000 potholes reported to the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) since 2015.

The DfI previously said that it could only repair the "highest priority defects" due to budgetary constraints.

• Potholes: What are they and why are they dangerous?

• What are the potholes like in your area?

Mr O'Dowd said that "work will start immediately on the planning and delivery" of new resurfacing schemes.

"This represents a significant additional investment in our road network," he added.