Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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825. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding available from his Department for the specific improvement grant scheme in 2015; if he will support the provision of funding for a scheme (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29614/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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​The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is a statutory function of each road authority within its area, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993.  Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources, supplemented by State road grants.  Cork County Council has been allocated  a total of €32.2 million in grant funding this year, including a Discretionary Grant of €3.5 million. Given the challenging economic climate, the Specific Improvement Grants Scheme has been curtailed in order to maximise the funding available for repair and strengthening work. 

In this context the purpose of Exchequer funding is to supplement the own resources of the local authority and I have been emphasising to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources, including revenue from Local Property Tax receipts.