Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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607. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if provision is made in the Estimates for his Department for 2015 to progress the proposed Narrow Water Bridge project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40279/14]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources supplemented by State road grants paid by my Department. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

It is disappointing that the Narrow Water Bridge tender process resulted in a doubling of the initial costs budgeted for by the project partners for the construction of the bridge.

Given budgetary constraints, my Department could not take on full responsibility for the increased project cost and the significant risks involved in the project. While the Department was willing to consider assisting with the shortfall, this was explicitly contingent on significant contributions from other parties, including the Northern Ireland Executive. These commitments were not forthcoming within the timescale required for the INTERREG IVA programme.

Last month I met with officials from Louth County Council to discuss alternative plans being worked on by the local authority to advance the Narrow Water Bridge project. It is a matter for Louth County Council to further develop its proposal including the need for an economic appraisal to be undertaken in addition to an assessment of alternative funding arrangements for such a scheme. Accordingly, no specific provision has been included in my Department's 2015 Estimate for such an alternative project. My Department continues to operate within a very constrained budget and the priority, therefore, has to be road maintenance and renewal rather than new projects.