Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 217: To ask the Minister for Transport the total budget set aside for road safety in each of the past three years and to date in 2010; his intentions in this regard for 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42982/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Revised Estimates Volume (REV) sets out the annual budget for all Departments. The following amounts, as published in the REV, were provided to road safety agencies (Road Safety Authority and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety) in recent years under Subhead B3 of the Transport Vote: 2007 - €37.035 million

2008 - €44.152 million; 2009 - €37.198 million; 2010 - €33.303 million.

Local Authorities are also granted specific funds for low cost safety improvement schemes from my Department's Vote. For the years in question, the following amounts were provided for these schemes under Subhead B1: 2007 - €6.4 million; 2008 - €7.2 million; 2009 - €5.9 million; 2010 - €6.3 million. Indications are that all the relevant funding for 2010 will be drawn down by the end of the year.

In addition, the National Roads Authority (NRA) also allocates funding to low cost remedial safety improvements and high cost safety improvements. Under Section 17 of the Roads Act 1993, the responsibility for dispersal of these funds rests with the NRA and they do not report specifically on such expenditure. The road safety budget for next year will be considered as part of the Estimates process for 2011.