Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for the opportunity to address this issue . As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads, such as the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy scheme, is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual national road projects are matters for TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act.

The N28 is the national primary road that links Cork city to Ringaskiddy. The existing N28 is approximately 12 km long and is a single carriageway except for a dual-carriageway section at the approach to the Bloomfield interchange, the junction with the N40. The combination of traffic levels and the road layout results in delays for the current users of the N28. This affects both local traffic and long-distance through traffic.

Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network, and the maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads place a substantial financial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. Because of the national financial position, there have been very large reductions in Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure over the past number of years. For this reason, the focus has had to be on maintenance and renewal rather than major new improvement schemes.

The capital plan, published in September 2015, outlined proposed transport investment priorities to 2022. I understand that the transport element of the plan was framed by the conclusions reached in my Department's strategic investment framework for land transport. This report highlighted the importance of maintenance and renewal of transport infrastructure together with targeted investments to address particular bottlenecks and critical safety issues. The capital plan provides €6 billion for investment in the roads network in the period to 2022, with €4.4 billion earmarked for the maintenance and strengthening of the existing extensive network throughout the country and €1.6 billion for new projects. Allowing for the commitments relating to the PPP projects, the balance available for new projects within the available capital envelope was limited. Given the funding limits, the decision made by my predecessor was to provide for a mix of projects across the country to address particular constraints, including bottlenecks and port connectivity. While it will not be possible to address all the demands for improvement schemes over the capital plan period, the plan does provide for a number of important projects in the Cork area which are scheduled to commence construction within the plan period, including the upgrading of the Dunkettle roundabout, works on the N22 road between Ballyvourney and Macroom and works on the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy road, subject to appropriate planning consent.

In April this year, Cork County Council, in partnership with TII, launched a public consultation on the next stage of the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway scheme. The preferred route alignment and junction strategy for the scheme provides for 10.9 km of motorway standard dual carriageway from Bloomfield to Barnahely and 1.6 km of single carriageway from Barnahely to east of Ringaskiddy. TlI has reported that the outcome of the public consultation was positive. I understand the business case in respect of the project is being finalised for submission to my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The transport element of the capital plan is based on a 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. Funding will continue to be tight in 2017, with a step up in 2018 and 2019 and then a significant ramp up from 2020. As Minister I have to work within the capital budgets included in the plan, and TII, in planning the construction schedule for individual projects, also has to take account of the annual budgets available.

As I have indicated previously, we are all conscious that the recovery of the economy is generating spending pressures across the Government system, including capital investment needs. As part of the programme for a partnership Government there is an increased emphasis on the need for spending on public services, but the Government still has to operate within the EU fiscal rules and this does constrain options. There will be a mid-term review of the capital plan and this will provide an opportunity to assess progress and consider what scope there is for increased levels of investment depending on economic growth.

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