Good news for drivers as £8.1m is allocated to fixing potholes and repairing road surfaces in Northern Ireland

Announcing the additional investment today Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd said the capital investment is "vital".

The Sinn Fein minister said: "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.

"I recently addressed the Assembly to announce the allocation of an extra £1 million to target areas of highest priority with small scale resurfacing schemes, designed to repair areas that have suffered the most and where localised repairs are less effective.

"I am now in a position to announce an additional £8.1 million of funding for my department's structural maintenance programme to deliver additional resurfacing schemes and continue to address the poor condition of our road network.

"This investment has been made possible through a combination of additional funding from the Executive supplemented by a reallocation within my department.

"Work will start immediately on the planning and delivery of these new schemes."

Speaking after the announcement of the initial funding of £1m, Chair of the Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee DUP MLA Deborah Erskine had said the limited investment must be targeted appropriately and that further investment in new technology will be necessary.

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said. “Recognising the financial pressures we face, and which will continue into the future it is vital the Department looks at new technologies which can deal with potholes more quickly and at a lower cost.

"That however will require initial investment in order to reap longer-time savings.

“The imperative for that funding must be to ensure that problems are prioritised appropriately so the maximum benefit can be derived from a limited additional investment.”