Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am responding to the Deputy on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who regrets he cannot attend.

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 selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is, therefore, a matter for the local authority.

Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network, and the maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads places a substantial financial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. The national financial position has meant there have been very large reductions in the Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure over the past number of years. State funding for regional and local roads in 2008 was €604 million while funding last year was €320 million. In this context, it is important to reiterate that the purpose of Exchequer funding is to supplement the own resources spending of local authorities, and the Minister has been emphasising to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources, including revenue from local property tax receipts.

Local authorities are aware that it is a matter for each council to determine its priorities and to allocate funding accordingly. Given funding constraints, the Minister’s objective has to be to allocate funding to local authorities on as equitable a basis as possible. The main grant categories are, therefore, based on road lengths in each local authority's area of responsibility. The division of Department grant moneys under the restoration improvement, restoration maintenance and discretionary grant programmes between various local authority districts is decided at local level.

It is important to note that while the Minister's existing road budget will continue to be tight for the next number of years, reflecting the constraints relating to the EU fiscal rules, the seven year transport capital plan provides for the gradual build up in capital funding for the road network from the current relatively low base towards the levels needed to support maintenance and improvement works. Of course, damage caused by the severe impact of the recent storms and flooding will be assessed and prioritised as required by councils, and the Minister has asked his officials to review the Department’s overall budget allocations with a view to engaging with local authorities to address critical repair needs.

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