Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Much of what the Deputies are saying depends on who makes the decisions about when to treat roads and which roads to treat after the data have been made available to them. That is taken by the local authority duty engineer. Decisions on the delivery of winter maintenance activities, including salting and, where necessary, snowploughing, are made by the local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for providing engineering staff, operational staff, drivers, helpers and yard staff, plant including trucks, demountable salt spreaders and snow blades, and managing the drawdown of road salt. Winter treatment of the motorway network is the responsibility of the relevant public private partnership, PPP, operator or motorway contractor. In addition to providing the Vaisala road weather information system, RWIS, the role of Transport Infrastructure Ireland is to co-ordinate the annual winter operations programme. The authority provides support, back-up and funding to the local authorities each year in advance of the winter season. The authority convenes an annual winter maintenance conference, attended by duty engineers. Although I am satisfied with the way this has operated in the past, I am sure it can be improved and I will bring the references which Deputy Casey made to the N11 and which Deputy Breathnach made to the R166 and R173 to TII and the local authorities for attention and ask them. I cannot tell them what to do but I will refer the Deputies' remarks to them and ask them to respond accordingly.

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