The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads, in its area, is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
In May last year, the National Roads Authority (NRA) invited applications from road authorities for funding in 2011 under the Low Cost Safety Improvement Works scheme of grants. Among the applications submitted by Cork County Council was a proposal for works at Rathmullig East, Farmers Cross. However this project was not one of the schemes selected for funding in 2011.
It is open to Cork County Council to continue to prioritise this project and to resubmit it to the NRA for funding under the 2012 Low Cost Safety Improvement Works when applications are sought later in the year. It is also open to the council to fund this project through use of its own resources.