Derry's pockmarked roads ‘damaging cars, infuriating people’ warn Derry councillors

Elected representatives have also agreed to a letter being penned expressing their support for the fair pay demand of road service workers and their planned strike action.

The motion was brought by People Before Profit Colr Shaun Harkin who highlighted the unacceptable condition of roads district-wide.

He said: “I think we are all aware of the unacceptable state of our roads and many of us are trying to engage with DfI to get repairs done - but the state of the roads right now isn’t acceptable.

“It’s been brought to my attention by road service workers that they are going to be going on strike on the 27th of this month for a week and the demand they are making is related to pay.

"They are also in a cost of living crisis and they also need a decent pay to deal with rising costs and everything else.

“From my point of view, there is already a huge delay in getting repairs done across the district and it’s damaging cars, it’s infuriating people and it’s leaving cyclists unwilling to get on the roads.

"Now there is going to be a strike which I think will further compound the state of the roads because road service workers won’t be able to get out there and do their job, as they want to. This is a pressing issue for the council and district.

“I want to propose we express to DfI that we see this as a matter of urgency and we support the workers in their demands for fair pay and we support their strike but we want the DfI to act with immediacy to sort this out because the state they have left our roads in is unacceptable.”

Mayor of Derry & Strabane Sandra Duffy acknowledged the ongoing frustration with road issues and potholes and said elected representatives were well aware of the strength of feeling among local people.

Widespread concerns have been expressed over the damage being done and health and safety risks posed by potholes and other road defects across the city.