A review into road maintenance being published today shows that less than one in four defects on the country's busiest routes are being fixed.
Traffic levels have been growing with the economic recovery but the amount allocated to repairs is the same as it was in the year 2000.
The Irish Independent says 10 local authorities did not carry out repairs on 1,500 problem areas identified in 2014.
The report also shows that Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which allocates funding, is lacking essential information on whether money is being effectively spent.
The review was carried out for the Departments of Transport and Public Expenditure.