Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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205. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when he will provide sufficient funding to Tipperary County Council to carry out the very urgent grade 5 repairs that are required on the busy historic bridge at Ardfinnan in County Tipperary which has been reduced to one lane due to heavy traffic, and closed during the recent floods for safety reasons, thus affecting the town's long-term economical viability. [10949/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in Tipperary (including Ardfinnan Bridge on the R665) is the statutory responsibility of Tipperary County Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority. In January this year, my predecessor announced the 2016 regional and local road allocations, including an allocation of €15.9 million for Tipperary County Council. Grants for remedial works on bridges are made under my Department's Bridge Rehabilitation Grant scheme. Local authorities submit a list of bridges in order of priority for consideration for funding. Ardfinnan Bridge was placed some way down the list in Tipperary County Council's application. Taking into account the overall amount of funding available a grant allocation of €60,000 was made in respect of Ardfinnan Bridge with a view to facilitating progress on initial remedial works at this bridge. It is a matter for the local authority to select, prioritise and agree its regional and local road work programme each year. The purpose of Exchequer funding for regional and local roads is to supplement the own resources of local authorities, not to meet the full costs of all schemes.