Stormont's Department for Infrastructure manages the construction and maintenance of all roads in Northern Ireland, including local roads. Sinn Féin minister Liz Kimmins has attributed pothole issues to insufficient funding from the UK government.

Independent economic experts state that Northern Ireland's executive receives funding to deliver services at the same standard as in England, with adjustments for higher local needs and costs.

Councils in the Republic of Ireland handle much of the road maintenance work. Those councils received a central government supplementary grant of €1.5 billion this year for road maintenance, which marks a 13 percent increase from last year.