44 Deputy Christy O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport the amount of money allocated to Cork County Council for emergency road repairs after the November-December 2010 cold spell; his plans to allocate further funds for Cork’s rapidly deteriorating road network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3999/11]

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 and are supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

The 2011 regional and local road grant allocations, including the allocation to Cork County Council, will be announced very shortly. There will be an increased focus on directing funding towards repair and maintenance works with over 85% of the grant monies available in 2011 to be spent on such works.

The amount of money directed towards major new projects will be reduced. Discretion will be given to local authorities to revise their 3-year restoration programmes to assist them in repairing recently damaged roads.