Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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285. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which plans are in hand to extend motorway services to other regions throughout the country with a view to ensuring that the availability of such transport is seen as an incentive for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14526/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme.  Within its annual budget the planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

The Capital Plan 2016-2021 sets out transport investment priorities from 2016 to 2022. The transport elements of the Plan were framed by the conclusions reached in my Department’s Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport. Based on the findings in that report it is envisaged that maintenance and renewal of the road network will continue to be the main priority over the next period and the bulk of the roads capital budget, approximately €4.4 billion, is earmarked for such essential work with a further €600 million allocated for implementation of the PPP road programme which is already under way.

As regards the possibility of additional funding within the Plan period, my Department is making a strong case for additional funding for the transport sector as part of the Review of the Capital Plan currently underway.  The final decisions on allocations are, however, matters for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and Government as a whole.