Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank him for his attendance. I join members of Monaghan County Council in highlighting a stretch of roadway on the main N2, which is the Dublin to Derry road. It is a stretch of 47 km from Clontibret in County Monaghan to Ardee in County Louth. Monaghan County Council recently commissioned a report from a firm of consultants on the safety aspects of the road and it makes for very stark and sober reading.

The stretch of road deals with approximately 10,000 vehicles per day, 10% of which are heavy goods vehicles. The road incorporates more than 30 junctions, more than 40 accesses and more than 75 field gates. This is more than 150 locations at which drivers can turn onto or off the roadway. A total of 42 collisions took place over an eight-year period between 2008 and 2016 in which fatalities and injuries occurred. There were 11 fatal accidents on the stretch of roadway during this period. There were also two serious accidents and 29 minor injury accidents. Fatal collisions accounted for 26% of all injuries sustained on this stretch of roadway. The percentage of head-on collisions was high, representing 64% of all fatal collisions. There was one collision per kilometre on the stretch of roadway between January 2008 and May 2016, which is quite frightening. The report shows clearly this road is not fit for purpose. It was neither designed nor built for the traffic that now travels on it and these accidents are, unfortunately, proof of this.

Measures have been taken recently to counteract some of this tragedy, for example, junctions have been redesigned, but, unfortunately, it seems what we are doing is applying a sticking plaster when major surgery is required. A 2+2 motorway is seen as the safest option and was the main option recommended by the consultant firm that reported to Monaghan County Council last month. A 2+1 roadway was judged to have insufficient capacity. A total of 70% of all fatal crashes involved crossovers, which would have been prevented if we had a 2+2 roadway. It is estimated a figure of €88 million is required to rectify it.

Many lives have been lost along this stretch of roadway. If the Minister ever gets an opportunity to travel on it, he would be struck by the number of memorials erected by family members to loved ones lost on the stretch of roadway. It is quite striking and very depressing.

Roads, as we know, are vital for business, trade, communications and communities. Surely the main focus should be that people can travel on them safely. The Minister's brief is wide and funds are limited, but I ask respectfully that he prioritise this piece of roadway so the people who use it can do so on a safe manner. On the last occasion he was in the House several months ago, we discussed the same stretch of roadway. Unfortunately, that same day a fatality had occurred and I know the Minister was quite shocked to hear it. It is a serious issue and one that needs addressing. I would appreciate it if the Minister could look at it in a favourable light.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this matter this morning.I have already addressed the issue of the N2 a number of times this year on Topical Issue matters, Commencement matters and in reply to parliamentary questions. I am pleased to reiterate these points this morning and to share the Senator's concern about the collisions and the number of fatalities, of which the Senator said there were 11 in recent years. That is 11 too many, which I acknowledge. I hope that will be considered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which is identifying blackspots more intensely now. The TII has a small amount of funding to address issues where there are identified blackspots at which people have died.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. Within its annual budget, the planning, design and implementation of individual road projects such as the N2 are matters for the TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. While I repeat it often, it is worth remembering that Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network, which is an amazing figure per head of population. It involves a huge amount of maintenance. I point that out because people sometimes do not realise how much of our budget we have to spend on what is called "steady state", namely, keeping roads at the par level which is safe and adequate. That takes up a significant portion of the budget before we can spend money on any other projects. In fact, the roads are still not up to the required steady-state standard. It will take a further two years to get to that point and before we can make any improvements or build anything new.

Due to the national financial position, there have been very large reductions in Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure over recent years. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for the TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act. The Government's capital investment plan, Building on Recovery - Infrastructure and Capital Investment, provides the strategic and financial framework for the TII's national roads programme for the period from 2016 to 2022. As Minister, I must work within the capital budgets included in the plan and the TII must, in turn, prioritise works on the basis of the funding available to it. Decisions on the transport elements of the capital plan 2016 to 2021 were framed by the conclusions reached in my Department's strategic investment framework for land transport. Based on the findings in that report, it is envisaged that the maintenance and renewal of the road network will continue to be the main priority over the next period and account for the bulk of the capital budget for roads. Approximately €4.4 billion is earmarked for such essential work, with a further €600 million allocated for implementation of the public private partnership, PPP, road programme which is under way.

The transport element of Building on Recovery provides for a limited number of development projects which are targeted at removing critical bottlenecks or upgrading inadequate sections of road. There are no proposals to upgrade the N2 from Clontibret, County Monaghan, to Ardee, County Louth, to motorway status to connect with the M1 Dublin to Belfast route. A bypass of Slane is included in the capital plan among the limited number of major national road schemes which are planned to commence during the period, subject to capital appraisal and planning consent. The TII has provided a grant allocation of €1.2 million for the bypass this year, and consultants have been procured by Meath County Council to review the earlier An Bord Pleanála decision and prepare a revised scheme for submission to the board. The TII is fully aware of the strategic importance of the scheme and will continue to provide funding to advance the development of the project over the course of the Government's plan. Improvement works have been carried out on a phased basis on a section of the N2 between Monaghan and Emyvale. Phase 3 of the scheme involves the improvement of a 3.5 km section of the route, and it is anticipated that the works will commence on this section later this year.

As for the possibility of additional funding within the plan period for national roads projects, the capital plan review process is under way. My Department is making a strong case to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for extra funding. While there is a strong case for additional funding for the transport sector, there are a multitude of possible national, regional and local projects throughout the country, the cost of which far exceed available funding.Unfortunately, this means that only a limited number can be considered. The final decisions on allocations are, however, matters for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and Government as a whole.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We are well over time already. I ask Senator Gallagher to be brief.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I am disappointed that no funding has been allocated at this point. I would stress upon the Minister again that consideration would be given to national roads, particularly those such as this that have a high percentage of fatalities. Perhaps that point could be considered when funding is being allocated.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Senator Gallagher has made a fine case. I will ask my Department to look into the collisions aspect of what he said.