Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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608. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to address the traffic bottleneck at Thurles, County Tipperary as part of the Capital Plan 2016-2021 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3139/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (such as the Thurles Inner Relief Road) in Co. Tipperary 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. While I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme, the construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads (such as the Thurles Bypass), is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

Given the cutbacks in State funding for regional and local roads since the financial crisis, 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. The bulk of the funding allocated under the Capital Plan published in 2016 is, therefore, earmarked for the maintenance and renewal of the road network with some limited investment in the new projects. 

Neither the Thurles Bypass nor the Thurles Inner Relief Road are provided for in the Capital Plan.