To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the average time it has taken DFI Roads Division to respond to a report over the last two years.

My Department does not maintain statistics in the format requested.

Following reported pothole defects from the public it may be necessary for my officials to carry out a site investigation to reach a decision on whether the pothole meets our intervention criteria and the creation of an instructed surface defect record.

My Department receives a high volume of surface defect related enquiries, and regrettably it is not possible to investigate all enquiries immediately. It is likely that some faults will not be investigated until the next routine inspection of the area.

If, after investigation, it is found that the reported pothole requires action, our current standards specify a range of response times for the repair of defects, depending on factors such as their severity and the volume of traffic on the road. They range from one calendar day for the most serious defects, to periods of five working days and four weeks for less serious defects. The least serious defects are only required to be repaired in the next work programme for that route.

If it becomes apparent that the relevant response time cannot be met, then my Department has the option of installing signs to warn road users of a possible danger.