Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 March 2015
701. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to allocate funding for the upgrading of the R556 and R551 between Abbeydorney and Ballyduff in County Kerry, as the state of the road is not safe for drivers. [12729/15]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (such as the R556 and R551) 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 early February, I announced the 2015 regional and local road grant allocations and Kerry County Council was allocated €12.7m in regional and local road funding this year. No further funding is available. While Councils could apply in the past for grant funding for certain road improvement projects, budgetary constraints mean that the Specific Improvement Grants Scheme has been curtailed in order to maximise the funding available for repair and strengthening work of the road network.
While funding for 2015 has now been allocated it is 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.
