Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 June 2014
172. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are ways to finance the completion of the Dingle inner relief road; if he will bundle the project with future planned works on the N86 or if there is some other way of progressing it in view of the fact that the local authority cannot afford to finance the project from its own resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24922/14]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities' own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
It is important to state that the role of Exchequer grants for regional and local roads is to supplement Councils like Kerry County Council in their own resources spending this area. While Councils could apply in the past for grant funding for certain road improvement projects, the Specific Improvement Grants Scheme is being curtailed from this year onward in order to maximise the limited funding available for repair and strengthening work of the road network.
The N86 is a national road and therefore is within the remit of the National Roads Authority. The Dingle Inner Relief Road is a regional road and as previously mentioned they are within the remit of the local authority, in this case Kerry County Council. In the first instance, the NRA do not have the remit to carry out or fund works relating to the a regional road. Secondly, while the resources of Kerry County Council are constrained so too are those of the NRA and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
