Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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132. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding that has been allocated to County Offaly on an annual basis from central government to Offaly County Council from January 2020 to date for the repair, upgrade and maintenance of roads in the county; the amount spent by Offaly County Council annually during this same period on the county's roads in the local electoral areas of Edenderry, Tullamore and Birr; and what amount, if any, has been returned unspent or used for other infrastructural projects by the council since 2020, in tabular form. [9373/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding his Department intends to allocate in 2024 to maintain, repair and upgrade roads in County Offaly in each of the three local electoral areas of Edenderry, Tullamore and Birr; and what plans his Department has to address to the appalling state of the roads throughout the county, particularly in north Offaly, which are among the worst in the State, in tabular form. [9374/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 133 together.

In accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993, each local authority has statutory responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of their regional and local roads. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities' own resources and are supplemented by State Road grants. Of these grants, the vast majority (approximately 90%) are targeted at the maintenance and renewal of the network with c. 10% of the remaining funding invested in new roads/bridges or for road realignments.

The payments to local authorities are outlined in the regional and local road payments booklets which are available in the Oireachtas Library. The payments booklets outline expenditure by type of grant programme. However, for convenience the grant funding provided to Offaly County Council for the maintenance and upkeep of regional and local roads from 2020 to 2023 is outlined in the table below.

On 15th February I announced an Exchequer investment of €658 million in our regional and local roads across the State which represents an increase of €32 million over the 2023 allocations, with each local authority receiving an increase in funding for their Restoration Improvement grant.

Offaly County Council received a total allocation of €15,754,150 this year. Decisions regarding allocations to individual Municipal Districts are a matter for each local authority.

In this regard I suggest you contact Offaly County Council directly for details of the allocation of funding for regional and local roads in the Municipal Districts of Edenderry, Tullamore, and Birr.