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. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
Before the financial crisis, local authorities could apply on a regular basis for grants for Specific (schemes costing less than €5m) and Strategic Improvement Grants (schemes costing more than €5m) for the widening or realignment of regional and local roads. However, the extent of the cutbacks in grant funding during the crisis meant this grant scheme had to be curtailed from 2013 because expenditure on maintenance/renewal was falling well short of what was required to adequately maintain the regional and local road network.
The current Capital Plan does provide for the gradual build-up in funding for the road network but it will take some years yet to reach the level required even for the basic maintenance and renewal of the network. For this reason, there continues to be very limited scope for funding new or additional projects under the Specific and Strategic Grant Programmes.
Any projects proposed by local authorities for consideration under these Grant Programmes are assessed by the Department on a case-by-case basis. It is important for local authorities to prioritise projects within their overall area of responsibility with these requirements in mind.
Regarding Fintra Bridge:
- The Department has committed and remains committed to assisting Donegal County Council in upgrading the R263 regional road at Fintra Bridge
- The Department’s commitment was reflected in a grant allocation of €150,000 in 2018 (of which €35,572 was drawn down). An allocation of €150,000 has also been provided in 2019 for this project. Further monies will be made available in future years as the project progresses
- Following a tender process approval was given to Donegal County Council to appoint Engineering Technical Advisers in April 2018. Since then the Preliminary Appraisal for the project has been submitted to the Department and approved by the Department’s Economic Evaluation Unit
- It should be noted that all Departments and Local Authorities must follow the Public Spending Code (PSC). This is to ensure that projects are properly assessed and designed before lands are acquired and construction commenced. In the case of Fintra Bridge this means that alternative options must be assessed (which is happening at this time) and an important decision will be to determine how much of the approach road to the East of Fintra Bridge should be realigned and how that can be best achieved.
