Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 552: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding allocated by his Department to each county council for improvement and maintenance of public roads; the number of kilometres of public road for which each county council is responsible; and the amount per kilometre in each county council area arising from such allocation. [6147/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for national roads is a matter for the relevant road authority and the National Roads Authority which operates under the aegis of my colleague the Minister for Transport.

The provision and improvement of non-national roads is a matter for local authorities to be funded from their own resources supplemented by State grants provided by my Department.

There have been significant increases in recent years in the level of State funding provided to local authorities for the provision, improvement and maintenance of non-national roads. State funding in 2007 for non-national roads, at over €607.5 million, is at its highest ever level, and represents a very substantial increase of 9% on last year's record allocation, or an increase of almost €50 million.

In determining the annual non-national road grant allocations, the overall objective is to resource each local authority appropriately in relation to their ongoing and special needs. Non-national road grants are allocated under a number of grant categories. The only grant categories which are calculated by reference to length of road are the discretionary improvement and maintenance and restoration maintenance categories.

Details of the 2007 grant allocations to each county council for the improvement and maintenance of non-national roads, the total length of non-national roads in each county council area and the funding per kilometre allocated to each county council under the discretionary improvement and maintenance and restoration maintenance grant categories are set out in the following table.