Wexford road hasn’t been repaired for 70 years – ‘The surface is simply not suitable for everyday use’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

There is a debate among those living on the Ardinagh Lane near Taghmon in Co Wexford, a dispute over when the road was last repaired. One man, who has lived on the lane for the past 70 years, says it has never been repaired in his lifetime, another lady argues that it was done more recently, at least 40 years ago.

Either way, this 4km stretch of road, which serves not just the 20-odd households which populate it, but also a number of farmers and landowners, is well overdue some love.

Anyone brave enough to drive down it must do so with a degree of caution, must slowly navigate the ravaged surface, wind their way from one side of the road to the next lest they fall in a pothole so large they may never return.

However, Ardinagh Lane is just one of many poorly-kept roads in a county full of them and, as Councillor Aoife Rose O’Brien explains, this is not the fault of the local council.

“The problem we have is that this year we got very little funding, especially for local roads,” she says. “The biggest issue is that funding for every county council is allocated per kilometre rather than the condition of the roads, so counties like Dublin and Cork continue to get the most funding even though their roads are in a lot better condition than ours.

"The engineer for this district is doing the best he can with the money he’s being given. As a councillor I am going to apply pressure to central government to get this changed because the local funding just isn’t being made available.”

While potholes have been repeatedly filled on Ardinagh Lane, locals say that is just a short-term fix, and not a very effective one.

“There’s landowners here so that means tractors and combines travelling up and down all day and night, but this lane is no longer suitable for heavy machinery,” says one. “It’s costing us money every year to get our cars repaired. It’s affecting everyone here. There’s literally no foundation left on the road.”

Mindful that we have just entered November and there are likely to be a number of storms hitting this road and others in the coming months, one resident says there is an increased risk of flooding due to the lack of drainage on the lane.

“The ditches are all clogged so there’s no drainage here either. It’s like that the whole way along, and it’s getting worse, it will lead to houses being flooded unless something is done. And whatever about driving, you can’t really walk on this lane any more either, not in the winter any way.

“We have a neighbour who’s in a wheelchair, he used to come up and down here every day but he can no longer do so. They have filled the potholes but it’s like putting a plaster over it; they were taking the rain out of them to fill them.”

With Cllr O’Brien offering a commitment to discuss Ardinagh Lane with the district engineer and see if it can be put on the roads programme for 2026, the residents have penned a letter which they intend to deliver to the offices of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD).

Signed by members of all the households in the area, it expresses their “deep concern regarding the increasingly deteriorated condition of the road”.

"The poor condition of the road poses a serious risk to both motorists and pedestrians. Car damage – particularly to tyres, wheels, and suspensions – is common. Residents, all of whom pay road tax, are understandably frustrated at the lack of meaningful investment or improvement.

"This also affects the quality of life for our community. Young families are unable to safely walk the lane with children in buggies or on bicycles. The surface is simply not suitable for everyday use.”

Questioning the distribution of resources in Wexford County Council (WCC) the residents note that some homeowners contribute development fees to the council but have seen “little evidence of these funds being used to maintain or improve Ardinagh Lane”.

"Our community members go to work, they vote, they contribute to the local economy and wider society. It is only fair that the infrastructure they rely on reflects that contribution. We believe it is now time for a comprehensive, long-term solution – ideally a full resurfacing, rather than continued short-term patching that offers minimal benefit.”