Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue and I am delighted that the Minister is here to debate it. I know he is extremely aware of this road and its fabled history, not just from his nine years representing this constituency with distinction, but crossing it many times. I remember following him across this road some time ago when he was previously in government and attending the launch of a particularly impressive Coillte exhibition in the Dublin Mountains over which he presided. I am delighted to say that my family and I will be visiting that site this weekend. Thankfully, it is within the Dublin boundary.

As the Minister is aware, this road is not fit for purpose in the modern era. During the summer, a very serious two-car collision occurred on the road. This gave rise to concerns for many people and highlighted the need to progress with the plan to redesign the road. That plan is 25 or 30 years old at this stage. It predates the establishment of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and was originally drawn up by Dublin County Council. The road in most parts does not even have a footpath. In 2007, planning for the road was agreed but the project was put on hold due to the financial crisis. Thankfully, just when I left the local authority and entered the Seanad some years ago, a new planning application was submitted and accepted for a far more contemporary project in line with all the best regional planning guidelines, including, most importantly, the provision not just of properly proportioned and designed footpaths but also cycle lanes. I know the Minister would look forward many times to cycling up around the Dublin Mountains.

A new layout has already been completed at the junction of Harold's Grange Road and Blackglen Road. However, Blackglen Road still needs to be finished. The compulsory purchase orders have just been completed and the tenders have gone out to secure the construction of this road. I spoke to the engineer in the local authority today and was told that, all things going well, it would be able to begin the works in February. To reach that stage, we need to hear a commitment from the Minister that his Department will contribute to the funding. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has reserved considerable funding for this project, but it will never get the go-ahead if it does not also get central government funding.

It is vital because as soon as this welcome project is completed, the other two spurs of this three-road junction will need to be completed. I refer to the Harold's Grange Road spur alongside Marley Park and, most importantly, the Hillcrest Road spur through Lambs Cross and going down to the M50 where every day we see articulated lorries going to the major shopping centres, Sandyford Business Park or the very famous livery yard on the Enniskerry Road. They do so through a road junction where barely two cars can go across and in respect of which residents have had to campaign, sign petitions and have sleep-outs. I appeal to the Minister to give that guarantee, not just to the local authority and the local representatives but, crucially, to the rapidly growing population of the greater Blackglen Road area.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I am very happy to be here to take this matter because this is a road and area I am very familiar with.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Did the Minister notice the Deputy following him on the road at any stage?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I am sure he will be following me all the way to ministerial office at some stage.

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. State grants, where applicable, are intended to supplement the funding allocated to the maintenance and improvement of roads by local authorities from their own resources.

In the case of the four Dublin councils, under the arrangement put in place by Government following the introduction of the local property tax, LPT, local authorities are required to fund their main regional and local roads programmes from their own resources, including LPT receipts. While it is possible to seek grant support under the Department's regional and local roads grant programme for strategic projects, this is dependent on available budgets and the outcome of the project appraisal process required under the public spending code.

As regards budgets, the extent of the cutbacks in grant funding during the post-2008 recession meant that grant funding for road improvement schemes had to be curtailed because expenditure on maintenance and renewal was falling well short of what was required to adequately maintain the regional and local road network.  The national development plan, NDP, provides for the gradual build-up of funding for the road network, but funding is not yet at the level needed for the adequate maintenance and renewal of regional and local roads. For this reason, the primary focus for capital investment at present is the maintenance and renewal of the network and implementation of the 12 regional and local road projects identified for development, subject to necessary approvals, in the NDP.

Some limited provision is being made in the capital budget for the appraisal of a pipeline of upgrade projects. This is intended to cover the appraisal of projects for future development, if possible. Last year, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council raised with the Department the possibility of submitting an application for part-funding of the Blackglen Road-Harold's Grange Road scheme under this allocation. The council was proposing at the time to deliver the scheme in two phases. Phase 1 relates to the Blackglen Road and extends from the junction at Lambs Cross to the junction with Ticknock Road. Phase 2 deals with the Harold's Grange Road, extending from the junction with Ticknock Road to the junction with College Road-Grange Road-Kellystown Road. The council indicated that the estimated cost of phase 1 was of the order of €22 million. 

Following on from a meeting with the council, the Department indicated that given its existing funding commitments for strategic road schemes under the NDP, the detailed project appraisal requirements under the public spending code and the scale of and proposed timetable for implementation of this particular scheme, it would not be feasible to consider it for funding under the regional and local roads grant programme.  However, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has allocated funding of just over €2 million under its sustainable transport measures grants as an initial contribution towards the cost of the walking and cycling aspects of the scheme. The NTA is liaising directly with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in respect of this allocation.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. I will not pretend that I am not a little disappointed with the lack of progress. As the Minister well knows, people in this area have been waiting more than 25 years for improvements to a road that is not fit for purpose. In the time since the need for an upgrade was identified, 7,000 new homes have been built in the area and there has been a significant increase in traffic. The population has grown to such an extent that since I was first elected to office in 2009, a dozen new national and secondary schools have been constructed in the area. The volumes of traffic, including motor car, bicycle and, to a lesser extent, pedestrian have multiplied.

Priority must be given to upgrading this major linear artery across the Dublin Mountains. The road is used by people travelling to and from such places as Dundrum Town Centre, the M50 and Sandyford business district, and it encompasses a vastly populated and growing residential area. Many people bought their homes in the area assuming that the road would be built before they even had children, let alone when they were sending those children off, as the case may be, to third level. As I said, there was an extremely serious accident on the road this summer. Fortunately, there were no fatalities but there were a number of injuries and the traffic delays were manic. If we think back to the very bad snows of 2009 and 2010, there were four-hour to five-hour delays for motorists trying to cross this road. It is a very serious matter. I appeal to the Minister and his officials not just to engage with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council but to prioritise this project for funding, for the benefit not only of the immediate population but that of the wider population of south Dublin and north Wicklow.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy is right that I know this particular road well. I am also very familiar with Hillcrest Road, which the Deputy mentioned, and the travails of its residents over the years as a result of the inordinate traffic volumes on what is a narrow residential road. The Department engaged with the council in July last year and came back strongly with the position that funding for this scheme could not be drawn down under the regional and local roads grant programme. As I indicated in my reply, the roads already identified under the NDP will receive priority funding.

The only prospect I can offer the Deputy - without in any way committing, because it is impossible to do so - is that any review of the NDP might led to a possible reconsideration of the funding it provides. In the meantime, I understand the council has done the planning for the project and has started the process of securing compulsory purchase orders. I do not know whether the council has the resources to proceed with the works or where the project fits within its strategic investment plans. The Department, having considered the matter in some detail as recently as last year, concluded that the project would not be included in the regional and local road grants programme. As to whether that might change under any review of the NDP, which would be early next year, we will have to wait and see.