Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2025
246. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has assessed the typical costs incurred by promoters in preparing applications for exceptional abnormal loads, including bridge surveys and independent checks; if he will examine options such as a centrally maintained national capacity map or shared survey data to reduce duplication and cost, particularly for repeat routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65103/25]
View answerStakeholder engagement with the Road Sector and Energy Sector has identified the need for a Local Authority Central Support Unit to help the energy sector to coordinate delivery of its infrastructure going forward. This would include the assessment and delivery of exceptional abnormal loads with adequate dedicated expert technical resources in place to manage the process over the coming years.
A central support unit could potentially identify preferred routes and manage a repository of bridge assessments and condition surveys, which may avoid unnecessary duplication in the future. This would largely depend on both the application approver and promoter accepting the validity of previous assessments and the promoter’s insurers accepting the resulting liability. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is currently considering resource and funding requirements for this Central Support Unit.
