Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, was in Cobh recently at the Irish Open and he visited Fota Wildlife Park where he opened a tropical house and animal care centre. In his speech, the Minister highlighted the fantastic facilities, the fantastic coastline and that Cobh attracts large cruise liners, and he applauded the considerable investment into Cork Harbour, all of which is true. I supported every word the Minister stated. However, there is one missing link.

The R624 and Slatty Bridge into Cobh are in serious need of upgrading. This is an issue that has been ongoing for years but the situation has been deteriorating. Reduced funding being made available by the Government under the strategic regional and local roads programme has meant no funding has been released.

This upgrading is an essential piece of infrastructure. Not only is it a life line for residents, but it is also essential for business and for an area heavily reliant on tourism. The upgrading, at an estimated cost of €60 million, would provide a jobs boost to our local economy and provide an essential piece of infrastructure for future investment. Proper roads and transport facilities are important factors that attract investment.

Earlier this year, not for the first time, there was flooding in the Cobh area. Cobh itself was cut off, also not for the first time. The main road was impassable and the ferry was unable to dock. Emergency services were not able to access the residents of Cobh. That poses a serious threat to health and safety for the people of Cobh but it also sends out the wrong message to any potential investor. If one invests in Cobh, there is no guarantee that one can move one's goods or products in or out of Cobh. One's success is weather dependent. One's best ally is not the Government, but the weather man. The Government applauds itself as pro-business and pro-enterprise, but does that not count if one lives or works in Cobh?

Will the Minister prioritise funding so that this essential infrastructure can be built?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McLellan for the opportunity to address this issue. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of each road authority, in this case Cork County Council, 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.

The 2014 regional and local road grant allocations were announced in January this year. A total of €331.9 million is being provided to local authorities in 2014 for regional and local roads grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from these moneys is a matter for each local authority.

The cutbacks in State grants for regional and local roads has meant that it has been necessary to concentrate resources on the maintenance and rehabilitation of road pavements, rather than major new road schemes and major realignment schemes.

I am familiar with the R624 Cobh Road project and I understand there is a lot of concern locally about the need to upgrade access to Cobh island, as Deputy McLellan explained. An application was received from Cork County Council in September 2010 for 100% funding of the R624 Cobh Road project, which involves the construction of a new road and bridge at an estimated cost of €57.5 million under the Strategic Regional and Local Roads Programme.

The funding available for projects under this category for the entire country in 2014 is €11.3 million, down from €87.5 million in 2008. Unfortunately, this means that it is not possible to progress projects such as this at present anywhere in the State.

The Government's Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2015-2017 and Capital Review 2015-2019 have commenced. The current and capital reviews will consider new ways of achieving Government objectives in the tight fiscal framework in which we operate, including the extent to which funding will be available for the maintenance and development of the road network. I cannot say at this point what the outcome of the comprehensive review and of the capital review will be, but the Deputy can be assured that I will be making a strong case for an increase in the roads budget so that important projects such as this can be put back on the agenda. I would also encourage Cork County Council in any future application to make a contribution to the cost of such a project from its own revenues.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I am glad he stated that in the future he will make a strong case for the improvement of the Cobh Road.

The State has a clear role to play in job creation, investment and enterprise. Part of that role is to identify where there are weaknesses and strengths, and it is up to the Minister to strengthen any weakness and to assist in the flow of investment and jobs in to a suitable area that requires it. That area, I argue, is Cobh.

The Minister himself was there and he spoke highly of it.

I believe the Minister when he says he will make a strong case for it.

Cobh is a beautiful town which relies heavily on tourism. It is ideally situated in Cork Harbour - the second largest natural harbour in the world - and attracts large cruise ships. Cobh is at the doorstep of Cork, the second largest city on the island. It is also close to markets and is a gateway to the nation.

I know that €60 million may sound like a lot in the overall scheme of things, but this issue has been continuing for decades. We need to get that one missing link which is the upgrade of the Cobh road. I hope the Minister will see it as an investment rather than as expenditure. I also hope that in future he will make any case he can to prioritise the upgrading of the road.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In fairness, neither of us is here to score political points. We both appreciate what Cobh and the surrounding areas have to offer in terms of tourism and future investment possibilities. We agree that we would like to see the bridge and road being improved in the coming years. It is frankly a matter of money. The roads budget has been cut back severely, largely in order to protect front-line public services and reduce the amount of new taxes that have to be imposed. Therefore, it has been cut back for good reasons. However, I will be seeking an increase in the budget in the next round of multi-annual funding so that projects like this one can continue again.

The money we have left is largely for care and maintenance. The only new projects going ahead are either relatively inexpensive or funded off balance-sheet through public private partnerships. This is not the kind of project, however, that can be done as a PPP.

I note from Sinn Féin's pre-budget submission that it has not provided any increase in funding for transport or roads either. I imagine therefore that Sinn Féin would be supportive of the Government's overall thinking, which is that unfortunately, transport projects such as this will have wait in order to avoid imposing further cuts on front-line public services, or further taxes or charges.