Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 November 2014
187. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if increased funding will be provided to Kerry County Council to replace the old bridge at Listry on the R563; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44523/14]
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.
In the past local authorities were able to apply under the Specific Improvement Grants Scheme for funding towards the cost of road improvement projects, including bridge replacement but due to the cut backs in capital funding for roads the Specific Improvement Grant Scheme has had to be curtailed in order to maximise the funding available for repair and strengthening work. In lieu of the Specific Improvement Grant Programme, applications have been sought for bridge repair works (which is a subset of the current Specific Grant Programme) for 2015. This is in line with focusing monies on road and bridge maintenance and strengthening. The selection of projects is a matter for the relevant local authority.
It is also important to reiterate that the role of Exchequer grants for regional and local roads is to supplement Councils like Kerry County Council in their own resources spending in this area. It is open to the Council to fund this project from its own resources.
