Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy,

The Department of Transports Budget 2024 allocation will benefit the people of Clare in various programmes such as National Roads, Regional and Local Roads, EV Infrastructure and Active Travel investment, details of which are outlined below.

National Roads

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, construction, operation and management 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 Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals.

In 2023, TII allocated the following to Clare County Council in respect of National Roads –

• Protection & Renewal (Capital): €3,137,800
• Protection & Renewal (Current): €602,040

This funding is used by Clare County Council for projects such as those outlined in the table below, as well as for other safety and maintenance programmes in Co. Clare:

Project	Allocation
N19 Shannon Airport Access	€500,000
N67/N85 Blake’s Corner	€50,000
N67 Cloonbony to Rinneen Pavement	€878,200
N67 Doonbeg Pavement	€820,800
N67 Lisdoonvarna Pavement	€388,800

The National Roads allocations for 2024 are expected to be announced by the end of this year.

Regional and Local Roads

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 local authorities' own resources supplemented by State road grants, where applicable.

Under the 2024 Regional and Local Road Grant Programme, any funds allocated to Clare County Council next year will be employed to support a range of potential programmes including road pavement resealing and strengthening works, bridge rehabilitation projects, climate adaptation and safety measures, drainage works together with community involvement schemes on less trafficked roads.

In addition, funding will also provide for the implementation of the strategic regional and local road improvement scheme Shannon Crossing, Killaloe Bypass and R494 Upgrade Scheme which is being undertaken under the National Development Plan and is currently at construction stage.

Grant allocations for 2024 will be notified to local authorities early next year.

Zero Emissions Vehicles

Starting in 2024, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) plan to roll out schemes for En-Route charging on the National Road Network. This will start at the motorways and will then expand to remaining single carriage national road network.

The people of Clare will benefit from this infrastructure by enabling them to have confidence to make the decision to transition to a zero-emission electric vehicle as they know they will have charging capacity available when needed. From a Destination and residential Neighbourhood charger perspective, ZEVI is currently developing the National Destination and Residential Neighbourhood EV Charging Network Plan. Part of this plan will include for a regional approach to delivering EV Infrastructure across Ireland. Clare has agreed to join with Donegal, Sligo, Galway County and Mayo in developing their EV Infrastructure Strategies and from these Strategies, Implementation plans will be developed, and the funding needs identified for projects. The installation of EV Infrastructure at Destination and Residential Neighbourhood Locations will facilitate the transition to EVs to 2030 and beyond.

Active Travel

While the Department has responsibility for overall funding relating to Active Travel, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for allocating funding under their Active Travel Programme to local authorities for walking and cycling projects. During Q4 2023, the NTA will work with local authorities including Clare County Council to identify projects which will benefit from funding under the 2024 Programme. Funding allocations will be announced early next year.

Part of this allocation will fund projects under the Safe Routes to School programme in 2024. Round 1 and 2 schools are progressing through the Programme, and more schools will enter it as part of Round 3 next year. In Clare, five schools were selected for inclusion in Round 1 and an additional two schools were included in Round 2, the majority of which are at project design stage.

Continued funding will be allocated to behavioural change programmes such as Smarter Travel, Green Schools Travel, Bike Week and Cycle Right training. These operate on a national level, and the extent of specific allocations to or engagement with the local authority, schools or organisations in Clare will be determined early in 2024.

I look forward to working with our state agencies and the local authorities in Clare to deliver the above planned investments, which will be funded via the 2024 transport budget.