Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
167. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Transport if funding is provided to local authorities for the maintenance and upkeep of all types of roads on the islands; the funding provided by local authorities to the islands for their roads over the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12159/21]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from 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 Council.
Within the budget available to my Department for regional and local road grants, grant funding is allocated on the basis of grant programmes and not on the basis of the category of road. The allocation of funding across specific roads or across categories is a matter for each local authority, having regard to the funding available to it from local and central sources as well as its particular priorities.
The main regional and local road grant programmes are focussed on specific policy objectives i.e. surface sealing to protect the road surface from water damage, road strengthening based on pavement condition rating to lengthen the life of roads and a Discretionary Grant Scheme which allows for a specified range of activities including winter maintenance. These 3 grant programmes account for most of the grant funding and are allocated taking into account the length of the road network and traffic factors in a particular local authority area.
As regards the funding provided by local authorities to the islands for their roads over the past three years, details of the regional and local road grant allocations and payments to local authorities are outlined in the regional and local road allocations and payments booklets which are available in the Oireachtas Library. For the main grant programmes the apportionment of grant monies between individual Municipal Districts is a matter for decision by each Local Authority.
