National Pothole Day more important than ever
08/01/2025
Nearly three quarters don’t think the pothole issue in Northern Ireland is too big a problem for local government to fix, yet 85% say the situation is getting worse.
According to a new survey by car insurance experts at CompareNI, 70% believe local government could tackle the pothole issue. When asked did they think the pothole situation had improved over the last 12 months, 85% said no – with 65% saying their local area is worse for potholes than this time last year.
As National Pothole Day approaches on 15th January, the problem remains as acute as ever with almost 107,000 NI potholes recorded.
Here’s what the survey had to say:
| Are you aware that January 15th 2025 is National Pothole Day? | |
| No | 91% |
| Yes | 9% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| What would you like to see the local councils doing to resolve the pothole issue in their areas? | |
| More frequent checks on roads | 33% |
| Invest in more staff to support road repairs | 29% |
| Invest more capital | 25% |
| Take photos and highlight the issue further | 9% |
| Hold public meetings | 3% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| Do you think this is simply too big a problem for local government to fix? | |
| No | 70% |
| Yes | 29% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| What do you blame for the growing pothole problem? | |
| Lack of funding | 48% |
| Wrong materials | 21% |
| Bad weather | 15% |
| Other pressures on government | 14% |
| Coronavirus lockdown | 2% |
| What percentage of road accidents do you think potholes contribute to? | |
| 11-30% | 46% |
| 31-50% | 27% |
| 0-10% | 20% |
| 51%-100% | 6% |
| Not applicable | 2% |
| Do you think the pothole problem is worse in rural areas? | |
| Yes | 70% |
| Not sure | 18% |
| No | 11% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| What would you like to see from the government? | |
| More funds and staff allocated to maintain the roads | 64% |
| Increase in compensation for those affected by the issue | 21% |
| A Media alertness campaign | 7% |
| Ministerial statement | 4% |
| More public meetings | 3% |
| Do you think there is sufficient funding for potholes? | |
| No | 78% |
| Not sure | 15% |
| Yes | 7% |
| Not applicable | 0% |
| Do you think climate change is making the problem even worse or do you think it’s just the climate in Northern Ireland? | |
| Winter issue | 31% |
| Northern Ireland climate | 29% |
| Not applicable | 25% |
| Climate Change | 16% |
| Do you think the road repairs that are carried out, are working sufficiently? | |
| No | 80% |
| Not sure | 12% |
| Yes | 7% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| Do you think the pothole situation has improved over the last 12 months? | |
| No | 85% |
| Maybe | 11% |
| Yes | 3% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
| Do you think your area is worse for potholes than this time last year? | |
| Yes | 66% |
| Maybe | 18% |
| No | 15% |
| Not applicable | 1% |
Here’s what the data had to say:
Northern Ireland Regional Pothole Statistics
| District Council Area | 2022 Potholes Recorded | 2023 Potholes Recorded | 2024 Potholes Recorded | % Change 23 vs 24 |
| Newry, Mourne & Down | 15214 | 20080 | 19171 | -4.50% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon | 14916 | 12986 | 11923 | -8% |
| Belfast | 14386 | 12726 | 12840 | 9% |
| Derry City & Strabane | 12070 | 10882 | 9843 | -9.50% |
| Mid Ulster | 10047 | 10871 | 9845 | -9% |
| Antrim & Newtownabbey | 7653 | 7871 | 8060 | 2% |
| Ards and North Down | 7093 | 5757 | 7003 | 22% |
| Mid & East Antrim | 5683 | 7602 | 6438 | -15% |
| Causeway Coast & Glens | 5320 | 6442 | 6279 | -2.50% |
| Fermanagh & Omagh | 5119 | 9733 | 10219 | 5% |
| Castlereagh & Lisburn | 3818 | 4998 | 5232 | 5% |
| Other | 70 | |||
| TOTAL | 101,319 | 109,948 | 106,923 |
Pothole data
| NI District Council Areas | Potholes |
| NEWRY, MOURNE and DOWN | 19171 |
| BELFAST | 12840 |
| ARMAGH, BANBRIDGE and CRAIGAVON | 11923 |
| FERMANAGH and OMAGH | 10219 |
| MID ULSTER | 9845 |
| DERRY CITY and STRABANE | 9843 |
| ANTRIM and NEWTOWNABBEY | 8060 |
| ARDS and NORTH DOWN | 7003 |
| MID and EAST ANTRIM | 6438 |
| CAUSEWAY COAST and GLENS | 6279 |
| CASTLEREAGH and LISBURN | 5232 |
| OTHER | 70 |
| TOTAL NI POTHOLES | 106923 |
All Road Defects
| Response Time | Number of Defects |
| 5 working days | 67513 |
| 3 – 4 weeks | 57127 |
| 1 calendar day | 3319 |
| 6 weeks | 1285 |
| Total road defects | 134108 |
| Defect Status | Number of Defects |
| Completed | 103117 |
| Work not done | 4570 |
| Awaiting action | 1355 |
| Works order issued | 9982 |
Reference:
Source of pothole data – https://www.opendatani.gov.uk/dataset/surface-defects
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