Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand, as I do with regard to Deputy Munster, special pleading because I know the roads in Deputy Brendan Ryan's area are in dire need of repair. The local road allocation has been made for this year and there were very large increases, particularly for restoration. I will provide some figures, which might indicate to the Deputy the importance the Government places on this and the generosity we have shown, although, obviously, it has not been anything like enough. I acknowledge the need is there but it cannot be met to the extent required by the Deputy in this case. In line with the financial position in the capital plan, there is a significant increase in capital funding for regional and local roads in 2018. The increase is allowing a 18% increase in the allocation for road strengthening works and 17% for road surfacing from a combination of current and capital funding. Under the 2018 allocation, there are restoration improvement grants of €195 million, €33 million for restoration maintenance, €15 million for restoration maintenance supplementary and €70.6 million for discretionary grants.

See this speech in context