Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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490. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when funding will be provided to complete the repairs on the Fota Road, Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8464/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area (including the R624 Cobh Road project), is a statutory function of Cork County Council 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. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from these monies is a matter for each local authority.

Given the cutbacks since the financial crisis in State funding for regional and local roads, it has been necessary to curtail the grant programme for major new regional and local road schemes and for major realignment schemes in order to protect the funding available for the maintenance of the existing network. It has not, therefore, been possible to provide funding for a range of major road improvement schemes such as a proposed upgrade of the R624 Cobh Road. A submission to my Department in 2010 on this project put the cost of the construction of a new road and bridge at €57.5 million.  

When allocating grant funding my Department has emphasised that the commitment of local authorities to contribute significantly from their own resources towards the cost of improving and maintaining the regional and local roads network is essential and that full consideration needs to be given to utilising the Local Property Tax to boost own resources expenditure on regional and local road maintenance and renewal.