Michael Healy-Rae
Question:302. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will examine increased funding for roads for County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45310/26]
View answerTuesday, 16 June 2026
Questions (302)
Written answers
In 2026, €718 million was allocated, under the Regional and Local Roads Grant Programme, for improvement and maintenance work. Funding under this grant programme is to supplement the own resources of eligible local authorities.
Kerry County Council was allocated €31,367,325, with €28,917,325 for the protection and renewal of regional and local roads. This is an increase from the initial 2025 allocation of €28,030,450 for protection and renewal grants.
Funding under this grant programme is allocated on as fair and equitable a basis as possible to eligible local authorities. In the main protection and renewal grant categories, that basis is the length of the regional and local roads network within a local authority's area of responsibility.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals.
The Programme for Government 2025 committed to increase funding for new roads as part of the NDP review and the maintenance of existing roads, and to increase funding for the protection and renewal of the road network to address maintenance backlogs. In particular, the overall allocation from TII to Kerry County Council for the national roads in 2026 was €33.69 million. This was an increase of €19.45 million over 2025.