Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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277. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the money that will be allocated to the R312 for upgrade works in 2017; his Department's long-term plan for this vital road connecting Erris to Castlebar in which the county's main hospital is situated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3436/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in Mayo is the statutory responsibility of Mayo 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.

My Department received an application in 2015 in respect of the R312 under the Strategic Grant Programme. As a result of the substantial cutbacks in grant funding for roads during the financial crisis, the Strategic Grant Programme had to be curtailed in order to protect funding for road maintenance and repair and Mayo County Council was, therefore, notified in July 2015 that the Department was not in a position to provide an allocation for the proposed major upgrade scheme.

Further contacts between my Department and Mayo County Council officials last year resulted in a number of targeted measures to address issues with specific sections of the R312. These measures covered rehabilitation and resurfacing works together with a specific project to address the bottleneck at Glenisland Bridge.  Provision is being made for the continuation of the Glenisland bridge project in 2017.