Mr. Hugh Creegan:

The short answer is "Yes". To elaborate on that a little further, a couple of years ago we were in the position where we had more funding available than projects that were ready. As the Deputy knows, it has now changed. We now find we are unable to fund all the requests local authorities have, which is a good sign. That is a good place to be by comparison with the alternative. We are also conscious that we want to build up the cycling networks in particular. We have a lot of disparate pieces of cycling infrastructure. Until a network is put together, it does not become usable to people. The number one priority for us in respect of local authorities is to fill in the gaps to try to get a clearer network. At this stage, we have developed a plan for each local authority for what the core network will be. That is not to say there are not measures such as pedestrian crossings, junction tightening and so on, which the Deputy mentioned, that we also want to do. There will be limits to what we can accommodate, however, if we want to achieve that overall network ambition.

We are not against small projects at all. We have many small projects around the place. Sometimes, it is easier and looks more coherent and thought through if a bundle is put together. We are happy to consider that in particular cases. As I said, it is a challenge because that local authority will probably have twice as many projects that it wants us to fund than we have funding for. It becomes a discussion with the local authority in trying to prioritise what makes sense out of the package.