Mr. Dominic Mullaney:

This is an area in which local authorities have quite a bit of discretion. We ask for a three-year programme. This year we have asked local authorities for restoration and improvement programmes for the next three years, that is, for 2022, 2023 and 2024. It is up to them to draw up a priority list at local level. We will determine the level of funding based on road length and the overall pot of money available in 2022. The amounts to be made available are usually made known to councils around the end of January. They will then look at their three-year programmes, knowing how much money is available. If there is a little bit more than we had told them to programme for, they will be able to begin some of their schemes for the following year. Essentially, it is managed through a three-year rolling programme.