Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 October 2017
580. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if each road identified for upgrading or construction in the Government's original capital plan 2016 to 2017 and in the amended version is based on the recommendation and prioritisation of TII only. [42378/17]
View answerGiven its role in relation to national roads TII's input is taken into account in drafting capital expenditure programmes but TII does not have a policy role in relation to regional and local roads. As Minister, therefore, I have to take an overview of overall Departmental policy not alone regarding the national, regional and local road network but across all the sectors for which the Department is responsible in deciding capital expenditure priorities.
In light of the conclusions in the Department's SFILT, priority is being given to bringing maintenance and renewal expenditure back to the levels required to maintain our transport network adequately and this has meant that the scope for new projects is limited. Clearly, as Minister, I would like to be in a position to see more projects advance but I have to work within the budget available to me and this does impact on priorities.
