Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2018
579. Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to improve the Pettigo to Laghey Road (details supplied) in County Donegal; the progress made on this project since he met with a cross-party delegation from Donegal County Council earlier in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43854/18]
View answerThe position remains as outlined in response to Parliamentary Question No. 2168 of 24 July 2018. A copy of the response is outlined below:
The 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.
Before the financial crisis, local authorities could apply on a regular basis for grants for Specific (schemes costing less than €5m) and Strategic Improvement Grants (schemes costing more than €5m) for the strengthening, widening or realignment of regional and local roads. However, the extent of the cutbacks in grant funding during the crisis meant this grant scheme had to be curtailed from 2013 because expenditure on maintenance/renewal was falling well short of what was required to adequately maintain the regional and local road network.
The current Capital Plan does provide for the gradual build-up in funding for the road network but it will take some years yet to reach the level required even for the basic maintenance and renewal of the network. For this reason, there continues to be very limited scope for funding new or additional projects under the Specific and Strategic Grant Programmes.
Any projects proposed by local authorities for consideration under these Grant Programmes are assessed by the Department on a case-by-case basis. All projects put forward by local authorities for consideration must comply with the requirements of the Public Spending Code and the Department's Capital Appraisal Framework (CAF) and it is important for local authorities to prioritise projects within their overall area of responsibility with these requirements in mind. To date, Donegal County Council has not submitted a proposal to my Department regarding the R232 Pettigo to Laghey.
My Department is providing grant funding this year for the Tír Chonail bridge and Fintra bridge projects. An allocation of €600,000 has been provided to Donegal County Council in 2018 for Tír Chonail bridge and approval has been granted to Donegal County Council by the Department to award the contract for works on the bridge.
As regards Fintra bridge, an allocation of €150,000 has been provided in 2018 for preparatory work associated with the project, including project appraisal.
As regards the timeframe to deliver the projects, the implementation of individual projects within grant programmes is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. Grant funding for these projects in 2019 will be considered in liaison with Donegal County Council as part of the decision making process for next year's grant allocations.
