The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant County or City Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the 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.
As regards State grants for regional and local roads, the recession resulted in a major reduction in funding for the road network and these cuts had to be applied across the board.
The publication of the Capital Plan 2016-2021 in 2015 marked a move in the right direction in terms of restoring capital funding for the transport sector and this has been enhanced by the extra funding allocated under the Capital Plan Review. Maintenance and renewal of the road network will be the main priority over the capital plan period and most of the roads capital budget is earmarked for such essential work. In this context the Capital Plan provides for a gradual build up in capital funding towards the levels needed to support the adequate maintenance and renewal of the network.
Grant allocations this year represent a significant increase with Carlow County Council receiving a total allocation of €4,488,690 and Kilkenny County Council a total allocation of €11,972,000. In addition ring-fenced funding of €10 million is being provided for the Community Involvement Scheme this year and local authorities will be able to apply for funding under that heading.
I continue to emphasise to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources. It is a matter for each local authority to assess its priorities and draw up a roadworks programme for the year based on the State grant funding and own resources available to it.
