Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 April 2017
341. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will sanction additional funding to Kerry County Council to carry out repair works on roads in south Kerry following extensive damage done to roads during rains in October 2016 including the destruction of two bridges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18387/17]
View answerI presume the roads in Kerry being referred to by the Deputy are regional and local roads, the improvement and maintenance of which is the statutory responsibility of Kerry County Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's 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.
I announced the 2017 regional and local road allocations on 24 January, of which Kerry County Council was allocated €15.2m. As part of the 2017 allocation announcement, local authorities were advised (Circular RW 1/2017) that the Department is not setting aside contingency monies to address possible severe weather events and that in line with established practice, a contingency provision should be reserved from the overall resources available to each authority for regional and local roads so as to deal with damage caused by severe weather conditions, including flooding.
