Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Transport the regulations for the gritting of roads here; the breakdown of financing to local authorities to fund gritting; if he has expressed concerns over the lack of gritting on primary routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46118/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Roads Act, 1993, the maintenance of roads, including winter maintenance, is a statutory function of each individual road authority. This work is funded out of each authority's own resources, supplemented in the case of regional and local roads by discretionary and block grants allocated annually by my Department. In the case of national roads, funding for maintenance, which includes the gritting of roads and other safety related work in winter, is provided by my Department to the NRA which allocates it among the local authorities. Maintenance grants by my Department in 2008 amounted to €45.6 million, while €58.21 million was provided through the NRA.