Vol. 510 No. 6
30 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the consultations, if any, he has had with the National Roads Authority in the context of submissions for the funding of major road investment in the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23450/99]
My Department has worked closely with the National Roads Authority in order to ensure a substantial input to the preparation of the national development plan in regard to national roads.
Reflecting this input, the NDP provides for a total investment of £4.7 billion in national road improvement and maintenance during the period 2000-6, a threefold increase on the 1994-9 period. It also sets out a strategic framework for the development of the national roads network over the coming seven years. Within this framework the NRA will promote a more detailed programming of the work required and manage, in co-operation with local authorities, the planning, design and implementation of individual road development projects.
My Department has also co-operated with the NRA by approving a range of staffing proposals, both at NRA and local authority level, designed to ensure adequate organisational capacity to deliver the greatly expanded national roads programme envisaged by the NDP.
Is there any difference between the provision in the national plan, published yesterday, and the NRA's roads needs study, which was published earlier this year? If not, what has been the effect of the consultations between the Minister, his Department and the NRA? Has he left it entirely to the NRA to decide the strategy for road development?
Part of the NRA's remit is to draw up and advise the Government on the framework for national road development. The day to day administration and monitoring of that programme is a matter for the NRA. However, the Government broadly decided the key priorities of the national road investment programme in the NDP. The roads needs study in addition to that which is contained in the NDP reflects the Government's key priorities, which are the development of the main inter-urban links to motorway, dual carriageway standard; major improvements on the other national primary routes; completion of the M50 and the Dublin Port tunnel and improvement of key national secondary routes. These priorities are reflected in the NDP and the NRA must operate on that basis. However, the Government and myself do not get involved in the day to day organisation of the road projects; neither did my predecessors. That is a matter for the NRA.
I refer to strategy, not day to day management. Does the Minister accept that the national road element of the NDP is already in the road needs study? Does he agree that the NDP sets timescales for investment which are more or less similar to those proposed by the NRA originally? Will he be more specific about the staffing provisions for the NRA and local authorities? Is he aware that, unless the proper staffing and project monitoring structures are put in place, there is a serious risk that we will be unable to deliver on the road investment set out in the NDP? Is he further aware that already many road projects have run into difficulty because the local authorities do not have the staff to carry out the work required on behalf of the NRA?
In regard to the latter point, I am not aware of any projects that were delayed or held up because local authorities did not have the staff to deal with them. Most delays in the current programme arose because of court actions or challenges to the procedures involved, which is of great concern to myself, the Government and Members opposite.
The major difference between the NDP and the road needs study is the timescale involved. The NRA study covered the period 2000-19 and required £6 billion in investment while the Government will provide £4.7 billion over six years under the NDP. The money will be provided over a much shorter timescale than had been originally envisaged. There would not be any point in us asking the NRA to conduct a road needs study if we were going to ignore it completely and draw up the NDP separate to that. This is part of the consultation procedure with the NRA, local authorities and the regional assemblies.
