Local authorities in Ireland have a statutory duty to maintain public roads and footpaths in a safe condition. When they fail in that duty and someone is injured as a result — as a cyclist, driver, pedestrian, or motorcyclist — they can be held responsible for the consequences.
Under the Roads Act 1993 and the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995, road authorities — county councils and local authorities — have a legal duty to maintain public roads and footpaths. They are required to carry out regular inspections, respond to reported defects within a reasonable time, and take appropriate steps to warn road users of known hazards.
If a pothole, sunken drain cover, broken kerb, or cracked footpath caused your injury, and the local authority knew or should have known about it, you may have a strong claim.
Potholes and road defects are repaired quickly — often within days of an incident being reported. If the defect that caused your injury has not yet been repaired, photograph it immediately with something in shot for scale. Note the exact location with what3words or a GPS screenshot. This evidence may disappear within days.
Deirdre was walking her dog along a footpath in Ennis when her foot caught in a large section of broken paving that had been damaged and raised by tree roots. She fell forward and fractured her wrist and suffered a deep cut to her knee that required stitches.
She photographed the defect the same day from her hospital bed — directing her daughter to go and document it. When the council repaired it four days later, her solicitor argued that the speed of the repair was itself evidence that the council had known about it, or that it was so obviously dangerous that repair was immediate.
Freedom of Information requests later revealed that the specific section of footpath had been flagged in a council inspection report ten months earlier with a recommended repair that had not been actioned within the suggested timeframe.
The council's insurer settled the case.
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