Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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186. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when a meeting will be arranged with the OPW to progress a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54483/22]

Eamon 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 Councils' own resources supplemented by State road grants, where applicable.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is the State’s lead agency for flood risk management including the delivery of major flood relief schemes and it is understood that Mayo County Council has been liaising with OPW regarding the assessment of the causes of flooding in the South Mayo area and the identification of possible flood relief measures, such as relief channels and a managed pumping system in the impacted areas. As the cause of the flooding in the area is not regional and local roads related, the Department is not involved in the development of the relief plan and is, therefore, not involved in any direct discussion with OPW in relation to the scheme.

The Department has advised Mayo County Council that should works on regional and local roads be required as part of a broader OPW led flood relief scheme then it is open to the Council to seek to apply to the Department for grant assistance under the Regional and Local Road Programme, for example, under the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Works grant (for schemes with a cost estimate of up to €200,000) or under the Specific Improvement Grant (for schemes with a cost estimate greater than €200,000 and less than €5m).

It is important to note that any such application by the Council would be on the basis that the application will be competing with other regional and local roads schemes. As such the Council will have to prioritise schemes accordingly.