Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 April 2019
293. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider funding all proposed safety improvement locations in County Limerick as proposed by Limerick City and County Council; and the proposed date of sanctioning funding for such projects. [15682/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the maintenance, improvement and operation of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
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.
With regard to regional and local roads, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of local authorities, 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 local authority. It is a matter for each Council to determine its priorities and decide its work programme taking available grant funding and its own resources into account. I always stress to Councils the importance of prioritising roads when allocating their own resources.
Under the 2019 Safety Improvement Works programme for regional and local roads, Limerick City and County Council submitted applications for 11 safety projects at a cost of €485,000. Funding has been allocated to the Council to complete 9 of these projects at a cost of €358,000 in 2019.
