Niamh Smyth
Question:399. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Transport if he will review correspondence from (details supplied); if he will address the concerns raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20559/22]
View answerTuesday, 26 April 2022
Questions (399)
Written answers
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 regional and local road grants were notified to local authorities on the 15th February and Monaghan County Council has been allocated a total of €15,868,600 million which compares to an allocation of €7,684,950 million in 2017.
The Department's grant funding for the maintenance of regional and local roads is allocated to local authorities on a pro-rata basis, determined mainly by the length of the regional and local road network in the county. Basing regional and local roads grant allocations on road condition could result in an uneven distribution of Exchequer funding. For example, local authorities that allocate higher levels of own resources funding to regional and local roads will have a larger proportion of roads with a higher condition rating than those with lower levels of own resources funding.
The Department appreciates that, within the overall parameters set for the grant programme, local authorities might need to target funding at particular problem areas and there is sufficient flexibility in the structure of the grant programme to allow for this. It is also open to each local authority to allocate its own resources to priority areas.