Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources, supplemented by State road grants. The particular section of road to which the Deputy refers was recently downgraded from national road status, previously the N4, to regional road status, now the R148.

There have been very large reductions in roads expenditure over the past number of years and there will be further reductions in the coming years. Let us contrast the figure for 2007, when there were grants of €607 million available towards regional and local roads, with that for this year, when the level of the grants has fallen to €349 million. I am sure the House can see that in light of the current financial position, the main focus must be on the maintenance and repair of roads in which we have already invested and that this will remain the position in the coming years. The reality with regard to funding means that in all areas of activity, priorities have to be set. In this regard, it should be noted that the initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority. In July last year, the NRA invited applications in respect of consideration for funding under the specific improvement grant scheme. Local authorities were asked to ensure that their total cost of applications did not exceed their 2012 grant allocations. That would allow South Dublin County Council to apply for funding of €800,000 under this grant category. The R148 project was not among the priority projects submitted by the council within the expenditure limit allowed. South Dublin County Council may fund the project in question from its discretionary grant. It has been allocated €736,775 under this grant category for 2013. In addition, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport recently wrote to local authorities offering them more flexibility in their regional and local road grants. Councils have the opportunity to use up to 30% of their restoration improvement grants and reallocate it to their discretionary grants. In South Dublin County Council's case, this will amount to €556,641 should it wish to avail of the flexibility to which I refer. That would bring the total discretionary grant available to the council to €1,293,416.

It is appreciated that many local authorities are in a position where they are trying to implement savings. However, it is important to reiterate that the role of Exchequer grants in the context of regional and local roads is to supplement councils such as South Dublin County Council in their spending in this area. The reality is that the available funds do not match the amount of work required. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and local authorities are working closely to develop new and more efficient ways of delivering the best outputs possible with the funding available to them. Given the likely continued squeeze on Exchequer funding, this concentration on efficiency is essential in order to achieve the best outturns for the limited moneys available.

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