Written answers

Thursday, 9 September 2021

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Road Network

Photo of Brendan HowlinBrendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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146. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a recent assessment estimated that Wexford County Council requires €196 million to bring secondary roads in the county up to standard; his plans to address this urgent issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42682/21]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads 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 local authorities' own resources supplemented by State road grants, where applicable.

There were major cutbacks in funding for the road network in general during the post 2008 recession. As a result there is a backlog of road repair works in all local authority jurisdictions across the country. The National Development Plan (NDP), as it stands, provides for a gradual increase in funding for regional and local roads and there has been a significant increase in Exchequer funding particularly in the last four years.  In this context, Wexford County Council received a total allocation of €18,569,130 for 2021 which is an increase of 59% when compared to 2017. In addition, in June this year I announced the details of a €17.3 million investment package for climate adaptation works on regional and local roads with a view to making the network more resilient. Wexford County Council received an allocation of €650,830 under the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Works programme.

Funding is not yet at the level needed for the adequate maintenance and renewal of regional and local roads and so for this reason, the primary focus for capital investment continues to be the maintenance and renewal of the network with some limited investment in road improvement projects. Within the budget available to the Department, funding is allocated on as fair and equitable a basis as possible to eligible local authorities. In this context, grants in the main grant categories are allocated based on the length of the road network within a local authority's area of responsibility with some account taken of traffic.

It should be noted that exchequer funding for regional and local roads is intended to supplement realistic contributions from local authorities’ own resources. As the statutory road authorities for their areas, it is open to local authorities to reprioritise investment towards regional and local roads.

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