Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
134. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport if he plans to provide funding to complete the northern ring road in Athenry, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5839/21]
View answerThe 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 Councils' own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the Council.
Any projects proposed by local authorities for consideration under the Strategic Grant Programme 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). Given the limited funding available for regional and local road improvement works it is important for local authorities to prioritise projects within their overall area of responsibility with these requirements in mind. All applications received from local authorities for Strategic Grant allocations have to be assessed taking into account competing projects and the available budget.
The Department has provided funding for the proposed middle section of Athenry Ring Road to link up the two sections which have been constructed already. The implementation of this project, which is at design stage, is being managed by Galway County Council. The Department provided a funding allocation of €1.2 million in 2020 for this scheme but as progress was slower than anticipated only a small part of this allocation was actually drawn down.
Grant allocations for 2021 will be announced as soon as possible.
