The Minister of State is very welcome. I understand Senator Fidelma Healy Eames is sharing time.
Adjournment Matters
Road Improvement Schemes
I am giving one minute to Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh.
The Minister of State is very welcome. I ask him to intervene to ensure urgent remedial works can proceed at Seanadh Phéistín Bridge in Connemara. This bridge is located between Rossaveal and Oughterard. I am sure the Minister of State knows the area well. Some 17 families are affected in that they are cut off from normal life, so to speak, and are severely disadvantaged as a result. I ask the Department to work out a solution to this problem. At the root of the problem is a European directive, which is being tested at Seanadh Phéistín Bridge. A limit of 1.5 tonnes was put on the bridge and as a result certain vehicles such as an ambulance, a fire service vehicle, the special needs minibus and a specially modified car for a disabled child cannot cross it.
The issue came to a head when a woman with a child who has cerebral palsy was found crying at the bridge because she could not cross it and bring her child for essential therapies. The child needs 24 hour care. This directive has the potential to cause a national transport failure because it applies to every bridge in the country, but this is the first to be affected.
The nearest emergency ambulance, normally nine miles away when the bridge is structurally sound, can no longer use this bridge and must travel an alternative 100 km route to get there. So much for response times. The alternative route is hazardous, very prone to frost in winter and at times impassable, which means that it cannot be relied on in emergencies. A total of 17 families are stranded. One family, as I said, has a daughter with special needs who requires 24 hour care and travels in a modified vehicle which cannot cross the bridge as it exceeds the weight restriction. Oil supplies, animal feeds and goods can no longer cross because of their weight. It costs much more to buy them because of the bridge failure. Pensioners and families in need face unnecessary hardship, having to pay more to get fewer essential provisions. Some families cannot afford the extra costs and I am told they are freezing and starving as a result.
The core issue is that a judgment of the European Court of Justice, C-215/06, regarding the environmental impact assessment directives pertaining to roads and bridges under the current Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 prevents the work being easily done on this bridge. The National Parks and Wildlife Service and Galway County Council are dying to do the work. They even have the money but they need, as I see it, an amendment to the law. How can this be quickly remedied? I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister to intervene fairly quickly. The correspondence on this issue dates back to 2010. The substitute consent process under sections 74, 75, and 261A was intended for quarries but is now being applied to bridges.
The Senator has eaten into Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh’s time.
This is urgent. I beg the Acting Chairman’s indulgence. I appreciate that time is critical. I look forward to the Minister of State’s reply.
Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir Healy Eames as ucht deis a thabhairt dom labhairt ar an ábhar seo.
This is absolutely nonsensical. Some 17 families are stranded. I know the Allen family and Mia Allen, the child in question. She is trying to go to the special school in Tigh Nan Dooley in Carraroe and because of this nonsensical regulation she cannot do this. Business people in the area are trying to cross the bridge. It is also a very important route from the Rossaveal side, from south Connemara to north Connemara around Oughterard. Some heads must be knocked together to have some sense on the issue. The bridge needs to be brought up to the standards required. There are environmental issues that must be taken into account. A solution must be found very rapidly because children are trying to get to school and people are trying to get to work. It does not make sense to send them on a round trip of 100 km. I concur fully with Senator Fidelma Healy Eames and look forward to the Minister of State’s response.
I thank the Senators for giving me the opportunity to address the issue in the House on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar.
As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister has responsibility for overall policy and funding of the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a statutory matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007, with the local authorities concerned. The 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 local authorities' own resources, supplemented by State road grants paid by the Department. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
A total of €400 million has been made available this year under the 2013 regional and local roads investment programme. However, it is a matter for local authorities to decide on their road programmes and how best to use the resources available to them. The role of local authorities in overseeing the regional and local roads network is very important. With the vast network of roads serving very different needs from small farmers to large multinationals, a one-size-fits-all based regional and local roads maintenance regime would not be appropriate. I believe the decisions should be made locally by local public representatives.
I understand that in the case of this bridge Galway County Council has decided to impose a weight restriction on the bridge pending remedial works. Public concerns have been raised about the impact of the weight restriction on local residents and I understand Galway County Council is in direct contact with the affected residents with a view to addressing the problem as quickly as possible.
I do understand the issues the Senators have raised. I will ask the Minister about them and my officials tomorrow to make contact with Galway County Council to try to achieve a speedy solution to the problem. Senator Fidelma Healy Eames is correct, the funding does not seem to be a difficulty. There are other problems. I will ask my officials to contact Galway County Council immediately. It is a matter for the council, on which the Senators need to put pressure. By way of support and help, I will ask my officials tomorrow to make contact with it.
The Minister of State's response completely misses the point. Galway County Council is active. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is the competent authority and the council is the consulting authority, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Will the Government put a contingency plan in place to resolve a judgment of the European Court of Justice regarding the impact of certain directives on roads and bridges under the Planning Acts? This is not a case of Galway County Council not acting. It is a case of its not being able to act because of the judgment of the European Court on environmental impact directives. That is my question.
To be fair, that is not in the question. The question was to ensure urgent remedial works could proceed at the bridge.
That is how it has been perceived.
I take the Senator's point. There is a similar situation in a part of County Mayo where the National Parks and Wildlife Service is involved. We had to go through it with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to see what could be done. I take the case both Senators have raised in respect of the woman with her special needs child. I understand the situation for the 17 families involved. There was a similar situation in Leenaun when the bridge was swept away by floods. We had to carry out remedial works and deal with it. We had to try to put a temporary bridge in place in order that people would not be inconvenienced. Tomorrow I will ask my officials to contact Galway County Council immediately to get a report to enable me to see what the problem is. I will not give a guarantee tonight that if emergency legislation is required, it will be introduced between now and Christmas, but I hope something temporary can be done to, if possible, stop these families having to go to the lengths the Senators have mentioned. I will ask my officials to do this tomorrow.
The Seanad adjourned at 7.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 18 December 2013.