Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Transport the level of funding provided to each local authority to facilitate the metrification of speed limits; the budget allocated on an annual basis for the implementation of special speed limits outside schools; the funding provided to date to local authorities for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12596/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Special funding arrangements were made from Exchequer funds for the provision of the full range of speed limit signs to implement the changeover to the metric system on 20 January 2005 as a one-off measure in view of the fact that over 59,000 signs had to be provided and installed by that date. The provision of the traffic signs required to implement the metrication of speed limits on the public road network in January 2005 was handled centrally through the National Roads Authority.

The cost of the provision and delivery of metric speed limit signs to each local authority amounted to €4.088 million. Of this sum, €1.468 million for signs on national roads was met by the National Road Authority, NRA, and €2.617 million for signs on non-national roads was met by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. In addition, contributions were made by the NRA and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government towards local authority costs for the installation of these signs.

In the normal course of events, the provision of traffic signs on national roads is a matter for the NRA and, on non-national roads, is a matter for each road authority to fund out of their own resources supplemented by the annual discretionary maintenance and improvement grants or out of low cost safety grants allocated to the individual authorities by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. My Department does not collate details on expenditure incurred by local authorities on special speed limit signs or any other types of traffic signs.