Mr. Dominic Mullaney:

MapRoad is a project we have been supporting through the local government management agency. Essentially, it is a pavement management system for roads. It is getting to a critical point and there should be some good results to see from it next year and thereafter. It is one of 30 shared services which are being undertaken by local authorities and will be rolled out in that way. It will cover the whole country, but will have a single portal for applications for road opening licences. The idea is that the various utilities can apply through the single portal and a back office will deal with the applications. However, each local authority will make the decision. This will help standardise the application system and will improve consistency in the process. It will also help improve records, in terms of when roads were done and when rehabilitation work needs to be undertaken. The project gives a better fix on the cost of repairs, because all the information is on a single system.