Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Higgins for raising this matter. I am pleased to take this debate in the Seanad this evening and to take the opportunity again to respond to the Senator's request. I wish to re-emphasise the position regarding the funding of regional and local roads.

I understand the Senator's motion refers to a non-continuous footpath and, separately, to a railway bridge, both of which are located in the vicinity of Ballydavid, Athenry, Co. Galway. I will begin first of all by addressing the issue of regional and local road funding.

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads, including footpaths, 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 local authorities' own resources, supplemented by State road grants.

The role of Exchequer grants for regional and local roads is to supplement local authorities in their spending in this area. The initial selection and prioritisation of works, including footpaths, to be funded is also a matter for the local authority and its elected members.

On 23 January this year, my Department announced the €331.9 million investment programme for regional and local roads. From this, Galway County Council was allocated €18.3 million. These grants are mainly focused on the maintenance of the existing road network and it is open to Galway County Council to undertake work on footpaths from its discretionary grant allocation. Short lengths of safety-critical footpaths can also be submitted for consideration under the low-cost safety programme.

All available funding for 2014 has now been allocated and no further funding is available. I expect to announce the details of the 2015 road grants in January next year.

As regards the Irish Rail bridge at Ballydavid, Athenry, this is an operational matter for Irish Rail. Irish Rail has provided the following update to my officials regarding the bridge which is designated as OBG156 and spans the Dublin - Galway railway line at Ballydavid.

larnród Éireann renewed this bridge in 2013 with a provision for the later addition of a pedestrian deck. Currently, the pedestrian deck is in storage awaiting the installation of the approach footpaths by Galway County Council. As soon as the footpaths are nearing completion, larnród Éireann will place the pedestrian deck on the integrated supports on OBG156. The pedestrian deck was not included in the installation work in 2013, as it was felt that it presented a potential hazard to children inclined to attempt to cross the track using what would have been an unfinished pedestrian way.

As outlined above, the prioritisation of work on regional and local roads, including the approaching footpaths at this location, is a matter for Galway County Council.

This is communicating to me, as the Senator may already be aware, that the pedestrian deck, which might make a contribution to dealing with some of the difficulty the Senator has outlined, has been constructed and is in storage at the moment. The challenge in this matter is how funding can be found and how existing funding can be prioritised to allow construction of footpaths at this location to allow the delivery of the pedestrian span in a continuous manner.