Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
194. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the funding provided by his Department on a local authority basis in 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024 in respect of national secondary roads and local primary and secondary roads, by amount and road type, in tabular form. [22607/24]
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 regional and local road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the Council.
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 on the Oireachtas Digital Library.
Within the budget available to my Department for regional and local road grants, grant funding for maintenance purposes 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 three 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. Apart from a requirement that 15% of the road strengthening grant is spent on regional roads, the allocation of funding to different categories of road is a matter for decision by each local authority.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals. In this context, TII is best placed to advise you on funding allocated for the years 2021 -2024.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
