Section 10 of the Roads Act 1993 as amended by Roads Act to 2007 provides for the classification of national, regional and local roads. In accordance with the section 10(1)(e) of the Roads Act 1993 (as inserted by section 11 of the Roads Act 2007), the section of an existing national road which remains following the construction of a by-pass or a realignment is deemed to be a local road.
I have statutory responsibility for the classification of public roads. Changes in the classification status of a local road to a national or regional road are made by Ministerial Order, either on my initiative or on consideration of a request from the relevant road authority. I have received no such request in relation to the N6 route from Ballinasloe to Galway. The need to update the classification of roads generally is kept under ongoing review in my Department.