Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

Before I call on the first Senator, I welcome guests of Senator Neasa Cosgrove from ATU in Sligo, Silvia and Martyna, to Seanad Éireann and thank them for being here. I call Senator Kennelly.

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. Indeed, I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad this afternoon.

Today I am speaking, once again, to highlight the urgent and worsening situation at Foildarrig Bridge in Duagh, which is situated in north Kerry. It is a critical piece of infrastructure that has been forced to close again this week following heavy rainfalls which caused movement in the remedial works that were granted by the Department of Transport, thankfully, over a year and a half ago. The engineers have assessed the structure and deemed it unsafe again, leaving the community facing yet another period of disruption mere months after the 16-week closure last year. This is not a new problem. It is a chronic issue that has now reached breaking point.

In spring 2024, remedial works were carried out on Foildarrig Bridge in an effort to stabilise the structure and address ongoing erosion. While those works were welcome, they were clearly not the long-term solution the bridge needed. Last December, Kerry County Council management confirmed that an application had been made to the Department of Transport under the climate change adaptation and resilience works programme to finally address the erosion issue in a permanent and durable way. Unfortunately, that application was not successful. Now we are facing an even more urgent deadline. The funding mechanism for the next round, for 2026 funding, is closing on Friday, 20 November. Kerry County Council is applying again and I am imploring the Minister today to ensure that the future of this road and this bridge is prioritised for immediate support.

The people I represent cannot continue to endure recurring closures. When this bridge shuts, it tears through the daily life of this community, cutting off access to businesses, schools, shops, farms, all services, the GAA pitch and the community centre in Duagh. Indeed, our long-awaited greenway has an entrance point on this road which will be denied during closures. It adds miles to every journey. It drains time, resources and economic activity from an area that simply cannot absorb repeated disruptions of this scale.

We urgently need a two-stage commitment. The first is immediate funding for design work to identify and scope the long-term engineering solutions that will finally stabilise the bridge and protect it against future weather-related events. The second is a guarantee that once design work is complete, the Department will support the drawdown of the specific capital funding required to carry out these emergency essential works. Without this, we will continue to live in a cycle of closures which is unfair to everyone in my area. Emergency assessments and temporary fixes are not acceptable for the people of Duagh and, indeed, the whole of north Kerry and the surrounding communities, or for the businesses and families who rely on this route every day.

The severity of this situation cannot be overstated. It has to be made a priority. Today I am asking the Minister to ensure that Foildarrig Bridge is treated with the urgency it deserves, that funding streams are fully utilised and that this vital piece of infrastructure is finally secured for the long-term future of the community I proudly represent.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Kennelly for raising the matter. The Senator is a proud representative of his area and I hear his concerns in terms of the temporary fixtures and temporary solutions. The Senator is correct that it is unacceptable that a 16-week closure deprives people. The Senator painted a very dark picture of the lack of connectivity.

I am taking the matter this afternoon for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien.The bridge rehabilitation scheme in the context of Foildarrig Bridge in Duagh is one that we have been here before with. The Senator has been a very strong advocate of this project. As he knows, in the 2025 regional and local roads programme, Government is strongly committed to the protection of the existing road network. I should point out on behalf of the Department that the improvement in maintenance of the regional and local road network in County Kerry is the statutory responsibility of Kerry County Council in accordance with the Roads Act 1993. Works on these roads are funded from the council's own resources and are, as the Senator said, supported by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority, but I would be happy to visit the area again with the Senator and to make the case that he has made, both to the Department and to Kerry County Council.

The Department of Transport provides grant assistance to local authorities under the regional and local roads grant programme for a number of targeted programmes, including what we are discussing today here, namely, the bridge rehabilitation grant programme. Applications are sought each year from eligible local authorities under the programme for consideration for funding in the subsequent year. Councils are asked to submit applications in order of priority. This year, Kerry County Council has been allocated €930,000 for ten schemes under the bridge rehabilitation programme. Last year the council was allocated funding of €845,000 under the same programme, which did include funding for the Foildarrig Bridge to facilitate a special inspection and provision of rock protection on the embankment. It should be noted that approval to proceed with works in the river is also needed from Inland Fisheries Ireland and not from the Department of Transport. There is a need for greater connectivity between all relevant stakeholders here, and I would be happy to work with the Senator on that.

The Department of Transport sought applications in October of last year for funding of climate change adaptation and resilience works on regional and local roads to be carried out by the local authorities during this year. The schemes for inclusion in the application are decided by the local authorities. Applications are made to the Department, taking into account the terms applying for the grant and the available budget for the grant programme. As the Senator knows, it is not possible to allocate funds to all projects. On this occasion, the scheme at Foildarrig Bridge was not allocated funding under the climate change adaptation and resilience works programme. However, the Department will work with Kerry County Council to apportion funds and address areas of urgent and immediate concern as deemed appropriate by the local authority. This is why I think it is important that the Senator and I go back there to make the case again. While grants are based primarily on the initial selection and prioritisation of maintenance and renewal works as a matter for each local authority, there is flexibility within the State grant programme for councils to direct resources to address particular problems identified on their networks as they see fit.

Senator Kennelly has made very clear the need for urgent work to be carried out. It is a critical piece of infrastructure and the Senator has made the point that the 16-week closure is unacceptable and, as he said, it is about the connectivity that is missing. I look forward to working with the Senator. I appreciate his concerns and those of the residents and the lack of funding in this case, but let us work together to ensure that we can apportion more funding to the project again.

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. While I acknowledge the Department's past engagement and the emergency funding that facilitated temporary repairs in 2024, I must reiterate that we are now beyond that point of patchwork solutions. As I said, the people of the Duagh and north Kerry deserve more than reactive measures. The bridge's repeated closures are not just an inconvenience, as I stated. They are a threat to the social and economic fabric of the region. Every time this route is severed, it isolates families, disrupts livelihoods and undermines confidence in our infrastructure planning. Therefore I am calling on the Minister to directly engage, which the Minster of State has promised, to ensure the current application is given the highest level of consideration under the 2026 climate adaptation and resilience works programme.

I note that the Minister of State has said that approval to proceed with works in a river is needed from Inland Fisheries Ireland and not from the Department of Transport. With the Minister of State's guidance, I ask that we draw down the design funding model, first of all. If there is a liability on whatever body it comes under, whether it is the OPW, the Department of Transport, or whoever it is, they should come to the table and we come to a very fast solution on this. I thank the Minister of State for his comments.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Senator's frustration. This is unacceptable. He is representing people who are deprived of connectivity, and he not wrong to be here today advocating for them. I accept totally his bona fides and his position. There is a need for facilitation between all the different stakeholders to ensure that we avoid where we have been and where we cannot be in the future. The Government is committed to protection and renewal of our road network.As we know, we must connect people, businesses and communities. We must also connect and protect people from what the Senator referenced in his contribution.

Kerry County Council has a role to play here, and it should not be let off the hook on this. It is responsible for maintaining and improving its regional and local roads. It is its responsibility to determine its priorities. I hope that the Senator and I, with the different stakeholders, can determine the priorities here in getting funding provided from the grant allocations and from the council's own resources. As the Senator knows, the Minister for Transport recognises the importance of funding provided to local authorities for the protection and renewal of the regional and local roads programme. This funding is an important one, with the Minister this year committing to €713 million to support regional and local roads. I will sit down with the Senator after today to ensure that we put in place a network of meetings to look at this issue of Foildarrig Bridge. The Senator has long been a champion of this project. He has met with me privately. I give him commitment that I will go down and visit the area with him and speak with officials in the Department to facilitate guiding the next principles. The Senator is right; it is unacceptable. I agree with him on that. I will work him on the matter.