Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 February 2019
564. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a route (details supplied) will be made safer; if road markings will be made clearer on all routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5505/19]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of local authorities, 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 2019 regional and local road allocations on 1st February and all grant funding available to my Department has now been allocated. It is a matter for each Council to determine its priorities and decide its work programme on that basis, taking available grant funding and its own resources into account. Cavan County Council has been allocated €12,896,209.
As regards the Dundalk to Cootehill road, grant funding is being provided to Cavan County Council to enable the Council to update previous appraisal work, in line with the current requirements in the Public Spending Code and the Capital Investment Framework, of an upgrade of the Cavan to Dundalk regional and local road route. The aim is to assess the extent to which the scheme or elements of it can be justified in terms of appraisal and advanced for further consideration.
