Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Transport and the Marine the way he will deal with the anomaly in road traffic law which currently prevents urban speed limits and double yellow lines to be applied by local authorities before areas are taken in charge by them; and if he will undertake to update the law soon in this regard. [17890/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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There is no anomaly in the Road Traffic Acts in relation to the scope of the application of the Acts. The application of this legislation only applies to public roads. A public road is a road that has been taken in charge by a road authority and as a consequence of executing that statutory procedure the road authority takes on responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of that road. The decision to take a road in charge by a road authority and the timing of any such decision is a matter to be determined by a local authority through co-ordination of its separate statutory roles as a planning, housing and road authority.

There has to be legal certainty in relation to the application of the law and it would not be appropriate to provide that the Road Traffic Acts could pre-empt the making of any such decision at local level. In the interests of legal clarity it is appropriate that the role of a road authority and the enforcement of road traffic law by the Garda Síochána or local authority traffic wardens apply to public roads only and should not be extended to apply to private roads i.e. roads that have not been taken in charge by a road authority.