Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very much open to providing more flexibility to local authorities, thus allowing them to move funds from one heading to another. My Department has received a proposal from one local authority and my officials are due to meet with the City and County Managers' Association to see if that can be progressed in the coming weeks. However, I want to be sure that the money actually goes into roads and does not end up being diverted into something else.

While it might be tempting to use all the money to patch up potholes, thus fixing the roads for a few months or a year, that is not the best way to do it long-term. We do need to strengthen the roads and restore them so that they can last for ten or 20 years. We want to be sure that does happen.

There is a new pilot scheme which the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, has devised and is heading up with county managers. It is a new community involvement scheme and local authorities will be able to bid for funds for that quite soon.

Flexibility is something the Government wants to assist local authorities with and allow them to do, provided it can be sure the money goes into roads and the work done is measured.

See this speech in context