Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick:

Projects like that go to our safety section. TII reviews the national road in terms of safety statistics. We plot where the accidents occur. That is one aspect of it. The other is that we actually drive the route and identify areas where there are issues as well. There are two elements to the way we deal with safety issues.

On a particular case, if we do not pick it up, the local authority has the option of submitting proposals as well. A number of safety engineers are located around the country. They engage directly with local authorities. The local authority submits a proposal. It is then considered internally. It is then looked at in terms of the overall funding we have available to the overall programme. If the local authority is currently proposing something, that will come into the safety section. It will review that and look at it in the context of the funding it has for next year.