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

I thank Senator Bradford for raising this issue. I noted his point regarding whether the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade should be taking this. Something I do, out of respect to Senators and the House, is take virtually all of the Commencement Matters relating to my Department because it is important to do so. The issue the Senator is raising is an example of that. I am very much aware of the importance of this issue to everybody who lives, works and represents the different counties and constituencies that could be affected by this road in the future.

As the Senator will be aware, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The responsibility for the construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads resides with the National Roads Authority and the local authorities in each county.

Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network and the maintenance of those roads places a substantial financial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. My overwhelming priority is to ensure that we have the resources and the plans to maintain and keep safe the roads that we have built.

Given the national financial position, there have been large reductions in the Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure over recent years. In 2008, we were investing €2.3 billion in roads. This year, the funding is approximately €730 million. The challenge I face is that the funds available to my Department at present do not match the amount of work that needs to be undertaken. For this reason, only a small number of road improvement projects, including PPP projects in the Government's 2012 infrastructure stimulus programme, are being progressed to construction stage. The challenge, therefore, for the NRA and road authorities is to manage the existing network as safely as possible with the resources available to them.

My predecessor had to decide in 2011 that the M20 scheme should be withdrawn from An Bord Pleanála because budgetary constraints meant that there was no prospect of the scheme going to construction within a reasonable period of time and approval of the then plan by the board would have triggered land acquisition costs of the order of between €90 million and €100 million. When the NRA raised the possibility of restarting planning on a Cork to Limerick motorway, I was conscious that capital funding is still very constrained presenting real difficulties in relation to the scale of the M20 - an 80 km road with a projected cost of €800 million. I was also conscious of the continuing need to prioritise expenditure on maintenance and renewal, not only for roads but also for public transport.

Unfortunately, the financial realities are that capital funding will continue to be tight for the next number of years, limiting the scope for progressing additional new projects over and above the PPP programmes already in place. Allowing for the current funding position, I have had to conclude that I am not in a position to review the 2011 decision at this point. Over time, it is my objective to restore capital funding for the transport sector to ensure that land transport infrastructure is maintained and renewed to support economic and social development.

While I have, I hope, stabilised the funding position, the scope for any new improvement projects depends on the availability of additional capital funding in the future. Once the new capital plan is published, I will assess what can be done to address particular bottlenecks.

I accept there are demands from other sectors and the difficult task of deciding between competing demands falls to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As regards the current position in relation to the N20, I understand the NRA has provided funding totalling over €8.9 million for safety and minor improvement works at various locations on the N20 route over the past five years. This year's national road grant allocations to Cork County Council also include a provision of €1.75 million for major road improvement works on the N20 at Buttevant. The authority has confirmed that it will continue to provide the maximum possible level of funding for the route having regard to funding constraints for national roads generally and the many competing demands for resources. I would emphasise that I expect the NRA to use safety assessment and pavement management systems to best effect to direct resources to where they are most needed.