Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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241. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the level of funding via the regional roads allocated for 2020 to date; the drawdown by county to 1 September 2020; the anticipated drawdown by 31 December 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22231/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (RLR) is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants, where applicable. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

The 2020 regional and local road allocations were announced on 21st January 2020. Details of the regional and local road grant allocations to local authorities are outlined in the regional and local road grant booklets which are available in the Oireachtas Library.

Table 1 below outlines the 2020 grant allocations and the grants paid out to the end of August this year.

Table 1 - Regional and Local Road Grant Allocations 2020

Following consideration of applications received from local authorities I recently announced the grant allocations for Active Travel and Climate Change Adaptation measures under the Government’s July Jobs Stimulus Plan. Tables 2 and 3 below sets out the allocations to local authorities. There has been no draw down of grants under these programmes as yet.

Table 2 - Active Travel Grant Allocations 2020

Table 3 - Climate Change Adaptation Grant Allocations 2020

As regards the anticipated drawdown by year end, while the suspension of work earlier in the year related to Covid-19 did impact on activity, the Department is seeking to actively manage the regional and local road programme with a view to full grant drawdown.