Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for raising this issue. The consistency with which he has raised issues relating to the Border area indicates that whatever Members on the opposite side of House say about the Government, the Deputy is readying people for Brexit and is warning realistically about the dangers for the Border area and the need for infrastructure there. I cannot say how many times he has raised the issue. He is not only consistent in doing so, he is also right to do it in light of current circumstances. The Deputy raised the matter with me most recently on I February during the debate on the Private Members' motion on roads funding and again at Question Time on 8 February. While the position regarding the east-west route remains as I outlined in my reply to him of 8 February, I am happy to address it again today.

Proposals to deliver an upgraded route linking Dundalk to Sligo were being examined before the financial crisis. This would involve linking elements of the national road network and regional roads along as direct a route as possible. Essentially, the scheme would involve upgrade or realignment works on the regional routes from Dundalk to Cavan and on national routes from Cavan to Sligo. The latter would involve a route that passes through Northern Ireland.

With regard to the national element, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding relating to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. As regards the regional road aspect of the proposal, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants.

While the recession resulted in major cutbacks in funding and the curtailment of road improvement projects across the country, my Department provided funding of over €2 million to Cavan County Council, acting as lead authority, in the period 2007 to 2014 to progress the regional road element of the project to preliminary design. It was not possible to take the scheme any further. The seven-year transport element of the capital plan published in September 2015 includes provision for expenditure of €6 billion on the road network. In line with the findings of my Department’s strategic framework for investment in land transport, €4.4 billion of this funding is earmarked for essential maintenance and strengthening works on the road network. A further €600 million relates to public private partnership projects and the balance is for investment in a limited number of road improvement projects. The overall funding envelope meant that it was not possible to include a range of projects in the plan.

At an estimated cost of €150 million, the East Link was one of those projects. While there is no provision in the capital plan for the east-west scheme, it is open to individual local authorities to progress the upgrade of sections of the route from their own resources.

On the capital plan review, while there is a strong case for additional funding for the transport sector, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has indicated that the total unallocated capital is about €2.6 billion. In contrast, in the transport sector alone, there are a multitude of possible national, regional and local projects around the country, the cost of which far exceed available funding. Unfortunately, this means that only a limited number can be put forward for consideration. I cannot therefore give any commitment at this time on projects along the route of the east-west link. By the end of the capital plan period, however, capital funding for the road network is expected to be back up to the levels needed to support maintenance and improvement works. At that stage, there may be more scope to consider projects along the route of the east-west link on a phased basis.

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