Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 November 2025
249. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has carried out analysis of the cost implications of prolonged under-investment in local and regional roads, including safety impacts, vehicle damage, and economic impacts in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67108/25]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of Regional and Local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant County or City Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the Council.
My Department funded the Regional Road survey in 2018 and it also funded a limited Local Road survey in 2021. Arising from these surveys a high level analysis was carried out to ascertain what the requirement would be to bring the condition of the network up to achieve Steady State.
The analysis conclusion was that there is a significant under investment in Regional and Local Roads and that additional investment is required to reach this milestone.
My Department has carried out Network Safety Analysis on the Regional Road network that identifies Locations of Interest (Loi) across the regional and local road network. The Locations of Interest are issued annually to all local authorities for their information and consideration as part of the annual Safety Improvement Works programme. This information allows the sector to target investment in Safety Schemes at identified locations on their road network.
I am unable to address the vehicle damage or economic impacts in rural areas as I have no information on these matters.
I continue to emphasise to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources. It is a matter for each local authority to assess its priorities and draw up a roadworks programme for the year based on the State grant funding and own resources available to it.
