Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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198. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are plans to include traffic calming measures and a speed reduction at a school (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47694/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Safe Routes To School Programme was launched by my Department in March 2021 with the aim of supporting walking, scooting, and cycling to primary and post-primary schools, and creating safer walking and cycling routes within communities, through the provision of infrastructure interventions.

This should help alleviate congestion at school gates and increase the number of students who walk or cycle to school, with improvements to the school commute ranging from an upgraded footpath or new cycle lane to a complete reworking of a school’s entrance.

Invitations to express interest were sent to all primary and secondary schools in the country, and 931 applications were received from schools across every county in Ireland. Schools are processed in tranches with three rounds having been announced to date. The nature of the SRTS programme is that all schools who initially applied will eventually enter the programme on a rolling basis and there will be no need to reapply.

It is my understanding that the particular school you have highlighted did not apply to the SRTS programme.

Given the pipeline of projects due for completion, there are no plans for an additional call for schools to join the SRTS programme currently. It should however be noted that because a school is not currently in the SRTS Programme, it does not mean that it will not receive any new or improved Active Travel infrastructure.

In some cases, schools outside the SRTS Programme are included in wider Active Travel projects if they are in the vicinity of these works. I would therefore recommend that any school not currently registered with the SRTS Programme to contact their local authority in relation to potential funding in this area.

My Department also provides grant assistance to local authorities under the Regional and Local Road Grant Programme for a number of targeted programmes, including the Safety Improvement Programme. Applications are sought each year from local authorities under this programme for consideration for funding in the subsequent year.

As Louth County Council is responsible for maintaining and improving its regional and local roads, it is Louth County Council’s responsibility to determine its priorities and work programme while taking account of the funding provided from grant allocations and from the Council’s own resources. As such, it is a matter for Louth County Council to submit such an application for consideration for funding.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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199. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are plans to include traffic calming measures and a speed reduction to ensure safety at Station Road in Castlebellingham, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47695/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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 these roads are funded from Councils’ own resources and supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority.

My Department provides grant assistance to local authorities under the Regional and Local Road Grant Programme for a number of targeted programmes, including the Safety Improvement Programme. Applications are sought each year from local authorities under this programme for consideration for funding in the subsequent year. In this context funding can be sought for traffic calming measures and other safety improvement works. It is a matter for Louth County Council to submit such an application for consideration for funding.