Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will seek to have the N20 motorway upgrade between Limerick and Cork included in the Government’s forthcoming capital plan; and if he views this upgrade as a national priority. [31940/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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​As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads, is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual national road projects is a matter for TII in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act. 

Due to the national financial position, there have been very large reductions in roads expenditure over the past number of years. Funding in 2008 was €2.3 billion while funding this year is around €764 million for the national, regional and local road network.  The reality is that available funds fall well short of the amount of work that could be undertaken.

Taking into account our obligations under the EU fiscal rules, capital budgets are expected to continue to be tight for the next number of years and this will limit the scope for progressing new projects over and above the PPP programme currently under way.  While, therefore, I know that it is important to restore capital funding for the transport sector to ensure that land transport infrastructure is maintained, and renewed to support economic development, I recognise that it will take some years for capital funding to build back up from the current constrained level to more appropriate levels.