Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 887: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the discussions he has had in recent times with his counterpart in Northern Ireland regarding the cross-Border road structures; his views on whether some of these link roads across the Border are in need of significant upgrading to accommodate the increased traffic brought about by the change in Border controls and the peace process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26398/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The improvement of non-national roads in its area is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Accordingly, the improvement of non-national roads in Border counties is a matter for the relevant road authority, to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State grants provided by my Department. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from non-national road grants from my Department is a matter for individual local authorities.

While I have not had any recent discussions with my counterpart in Northern Ireland on cross-Border road structures, my Department is currently developing a cross-Border collaborative framework between the National Spatial Strategy and the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland. This should facilitate further co-operation on spatial planning and infrastructure provision, including road networks in the Border region.