Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

249. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide climate adaptation funding as a matter of extreme urgency prior to the public road collapsing into the Behy River and take into consideration that the stone wall protecting Curra Road, Glenbeigh, County Kerry has been undermined by the increased river flow and this is now a major health and safety concern; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7288/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the Local Authority.

Local authorities were notified of the Department's regional and local road allocations for 2025 on 14th February 2025 and Kerry County Council has been allocated €33,360,450 million. This includes funding of €836,000 for climate change adaptation and resilience works and €930,000 for bridge rehabilitation works.

My Department sought applications in October 2024 for funding of climate change adaptation and resilience works on regional and local roads to be carried out by local authorities during 2025. The schemes for inclusion in the application are decided by the local authorities. Allocations are made by the Department taking into account the terms applying to the scheme and the available budget for the grant programme, and it is not possible to allocate funds to all projects. On this occasion the scheme at Curra Road was not allocated funding under the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Works Grant Programme.

However, the Department will work with Kerry County Council to apportion funds and address areas of urgent and immediate concern as deemed appropriate by the local authority.