Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
119. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport if a further financial allocation will be made during 2022 to local authorities for the non-national road network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21084/22]
View answer134. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport if additional funding will be provided for the non-national road network in the event of a reallocation within his Department of capital funding during 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21083/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 134 together.
The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority and Exchequer funding is intended to supplement local authorities’ own resources.
The major cuts to funding for regional and local roads during the post 2008 recession resulted in the build-up of a substantial backlog of works across the country. The estimated cost of the backlog is in excess of €5 billion.
Because of the pressures on the regional and local road network, approximately 90% of available Exchequer grant assistance to local authorities for regional and local roads is being directed to maintenance and renewal works rather than for new roads or for road realignments.
While funding is not at a level that would allow the backlog of roadworks across the country to be addressed, there has been significant increases in Exchequer grants for regional and local roads particularly in the recent years. The 2022 allocation for regional and local roads is €597 million approximately - €46m Current and €551m Capital. This represents an increase of about 46% compared to 2017.
I announced the 2022 grant allocations on the 15th of February and all road grant funding available for regional and local roads has now been allocated and a further allocation is not anticipated at this point. Given the uncertainty that exists in the construction sector at present due to high inflation in material costs and disruption to supply chains, it is expected that the main focus for local authorities will be on getting existing approved work programmes completed.
