Rural residents are being “failed” amid claims the scourge of potholes is now “threatening local services” and livelihoods.
And Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins is being asked to “get a grip” on a situation now being branded a “crisis”.
Farmers and care providers have been impacted as a result of the sheer volume of potholes, with one local councillor now insisting that enough is enough.
The DUP’s Scott Armstrong has claimed that rural communities across the Armagh area are being “left behind, ignored and effectively discriminated against”.
This, he said, was due to what he describes as the Department for Infrastructure’s “ongoing failure to maintain rural roads to a safe and basic standard”.
Councillor Armstrong was speaking after Armagh I reported this week how a young community care worker was facing the prospect of quitting a job she said she “absolutely loves”.
Mary Kelly, from Armagh, who had burst two tyres on local roads, told us how she travels around 150 miles daily but, due to the damage caused of defects caused on rural routes, she may no longer be able to afford to work as she costs of repair were just far too high.
Councillor Armstrong, meanwhile, said he had been “inundated” with complaints in recent weeks from residents in Killylea, Tynan, Benburb, Blackwatertown, Granemore, Middletown and Keady, all reporting worsening potholes, collapsing verges, flooding and dangerous road surfaces.
He says the situation has now escalated beyond inconvenience and is directly threatening essential services and rural livelihoods.
“People in rural communities feel like second‑class citizens,” said Councillor Armstrong. “They are repeatedly told their roads are ‘low priority’ compared to motorways and A‑class routes. That is simply unacceptable. Every day I am out on country roads identifying defects and reporting them to DfI, yet the problems continue to grow.
“I have been notified by some families in rural areas that they have been warned by care providers that their package of care may be withdrawn because staff cannot safely access their homes. Farmers have also been told that milk collections and feed deliveries may be cancelled if road conditions do not improve.
“This is no longer just about potholes damaging cars, this is about elderly residents potentially losing their care, and farmers—already struggling with severe weather—being told their collections and deliveries may stop. The stress this is causing families is enormous. Rural communities deserve better than this.”
Councillor Armstrong, responding to the announcement of money to help alleviate the situation, added: “The Minister recently announced an extra £2 million for essential maintenance this year, and while any funding is welcome, I can guarantee that the people contacting me in Armagh DEA will see very little of it. The backlog is enormous, and rural roads are clearly not being prioritised.”
He is now calling on the Minister for Infrastructure to urgently redirect focus and resources towards rural communities.
“The Minister needs to get a grip on this crisis. Rural residents are being failed. We need to get back to basics—fix the potholes, repair the roads, and stop wasting money on vanity projects while rural families and farmers are left stranded,” said Councillor Armstrong.
“Recent figures show that despite over £500m spent on road repairs in the last five years, potholes on rural roads continue to worsen, with transport providers reporting increasingly unsafe conditions for elderly and vulnerable passengers.
“DfI has also paid over £25m in compensation for road‑related damage and injuries between 2018 and 2023, a cost driven largely by deteriorating road surfaces.”
