Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At least it is bright until 11 p.m. at this time of the year but it is not quite the same in December so I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. As a rural Deputy I understand many of the challenges so I will try to assist Deputy Rabbitte with some of those matters.

I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ross. County and city councils - the local authorities - are the road authorities for national, regional and local roads. I will try to explain the breakdown of responsibilities as it is frustrating trying to figure out exactly who to go to and whose responsibility it is. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has responsibility for overall policy and funding for national roads. Each year my Department makes available to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, funding for the maintenance and construction of national roads. The disbursal of those moneys to local authorities under its various programmes of works is a matter for TII.

Under the Roads Acts from 1993 to 2015, the planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for the TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act. TII may, with respect to national roads or proposed national roads, do all or any of the following. It may prepare, or arrange for the preparation of designs for construction or improvement works, programmes of maintenance works or schemes for the provision of traffic signs; allocate moneys and make payments for construction or maintenance works; and specify standards for design, construction or maintenance works to be complied with by a person, road authority or public authority carrying out such works.

Whereas TII has an overarching responsibility for planning and supervising national road projects, it is local authorities, as road authorities, that have the responsibility for the operation and implementation of TII's planning strategies for national road developments. When national routes are being upgraded, councils normally arrange for undertaking the planning and design work, the preparation of compulsory purchase orders and environmental impact assessments, the submission of schemes to An Bord Pleanála, the subsequent acquisition of land and the procurement of contractors. In light of the above it is clear that, in general, local authorities which are designated under the Roads Act as the road authorities have primary responsibility for the implementation of construction and maintenance works on the national road network.

It should be noted that under other legislation local authorities are empowered to undertake many other roles and functions separate to their powers under the Roads Act. Under section 213 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, a local authority may, for the purpose of performing any of its functions "acquire, permanently or temporarily, by agreement or compulsorily, any easement, way leave, water right or other right over or in respect of any land or water or any substratum of land". This is a general local authority function and not a function under the Roads Act so it is the local authority that must account for its use of powers under this legislation. The Minister has no role in the oversight of individual projects on national roads. It is far from layman's language but it is specific to the legislation.

The Deputy mentioned the N67 and the roads department has indicated that TII has recently introduced a new boundary treatment with the aim of providing more forgiving roadsides in accordance with the Road Safety Authority strategy for 2013 to 2020. In this context, TII's road standards now only permit the use of timber posts and tensioned mesh fencing within eight metres of the road edge for 100 km/h roads unless a safety barrier is erected in front of the hazard or departure from the standard is approved by TII. It is understood that in the particular case of the N67 project, the existing boundary wall comprises a variety of boundary treatments, including fine examples of dry stone walls, rendered block walls in the vicinity of dwellings, concrete posts and rail fence. Approximately 80% of all boundaries are mature hedgerows that have developed over collapsed rubble walls.

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