Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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75. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will ensure that additional funding will be provided to Cavan County Council and Monaghan County Council for much-needed improvement works to the non-national road network in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13262/24]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister is aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to maintain the existing road network to a high standard and fund safety improvements. I am thinking particularly of the non-national road network in Cavan and Monaghan where we have heavy volumes of traffic. We depend entirely on the road network to move goods and people, and for day-to-day commerce and business. The weather has played havoc with road conditions over the past 12 months in particular. Additional funding needs to be allocated to our local authorities for this year's road works programme.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from councils' own resources, which are supplemented by State grants for regional and local roads.

As outlined in the 2024 regional and local roads programme, which I released on 13 February this year, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing regional and local road network. This network is fundamental in connecting people and places across the country. Ireland's regional and local road network spans over 96,000 km. The network requires significant funding to ensure it remains fit for purpose, safe and resilient. As such, €658 million was allocated to regional and local road grants in 2024, with approximately 90% of this funding being directed towards maintenance and renewal works. This represents an overall grant funding allocation increase of 5%.

Under the 2024 grant allocations, Monaghan County Council was allocated over €17 million for the maintenance and improvement of its regional and local roads. This represents an increase of nearly €850,000 compared to its 2023 allocation. Cavan County Council was allocated over €18 million, an increase of nearly €630,000 compared to its 2023 allocation. This funding will support each local authority in carrying out an extensive 2024 programme of maintenance and restoration works. In addition, the funding is earmarked to support various climate adaptation projects, bridge rehabilitation schemes and vital safety improvement works.

Under the national development plan, the Government prioritises carrying out targeted improvements to sections of the regional and local road network, with €677 million earmarked over the ten years until 2030. Road improvement projects can be proposed by local authorities for consideration for funding. All projects put forward must comply with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines and the transport appraisal framework.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister listened to my Fianna Fáil councillors in Cavan County Council outline their particular concerns about the non-national road network in our county. I say again that Cavan and Monaghan are totally dependent on the road network. County Cavan has a very small proportion of national road network. I think 95% of the road network in County Cavan is classified as non-national; it is regional and local. Even when you travel the best motorways in the country now, the damage the heavy rainfall has done is evident. If the heavy rainfall that has been consistent for so many months in recent times is damaging exceptionally well constructed roads, you can just imagine the damage it is doing to our local roads, laneways and regional roads. I welcome the increases that this Government has given since 2020 for the non-national road network but I have to say it is not enough. There has unfortunately been a massive increase in road construction costs, which has whittled away the financial increase that the Minister has allocated to each local authority.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I agree with Deputy Smith on both contentions. I mentioned in an earlier response that climate change is hitting home now. We see the rain levels and the intensity of rainfall. It is not just the amount of rain but the bursts and we see the impact on the road network where we have flooding events and so on. That is an issue. Similarly, there has been an issue with very high cost inflation, particularly in the road maintenance and repair area. That is why we gave additional funding last year. I believe that what we are doing this year in Cavan and Monaghan as well as elsewhere, with something like a 5% increase in the allocated budget, will help. I was talking to the Minister for Finance yesterday. Our forecasts for inflation are dropping quite significantly, certainly way below that figure. That should give us some capability to recover some of the gap. We are absolutely targeting repair and maintenance as the first priority. Once you let a road go, it is much more expensive to try to recover it and get it back.

That is the key area where councils and our Department will not skimp or save.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. I cannot emphasise enough that the increases the Minister has given us are welcome but do not match the increase in costs allied to the damage done by rainfall over the past 12 to 18 months. We are not sufficiently protecting the investment that has been made over recent years because councils are not able to carry out adequate programmes. I appeal to the Minister to provide an additional allocation to local authorities this year in order that they can do more than they originally planned under the February allocation.

This is about protecting the investment of taxpayers and ensuring that people, regardless of where they live, have a road of a proper standard to their homes, farms or places of business. The Minister is well aware that in Cavan and Monaghan most of our industry, businesses and commerce is situated along the non-national road network. Thankfully, in the past two years there has been an increase in business and employment and we want to ensure that we facilitate more employment and people living in rural communities.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Going into some details, additional projects have been progressed in Cavan and Monaghan this year. Eight schemes have been provided for under the climate change adaptation and resilient works programme. There have been 21 bridges dealt with under the bridge rehabilitation programme. There are 16 schemes under the safety improvement works programme. We provided an allocation in February. We will have to wait and see. Changing things in March would not be a good ordering of our affairs.

If there are any incidents, in particular with regard to flooding which we discussed earlier in respect of a road in Midleton, but the same applies across the country, we draw up special contingencies in the event of any specific flood or other climate-related damages. We will support counties because we do not want the road network to go below a certain level of repair. As the Deputy said, that is much more expensive.