Road Allocation Funding for County Kildare Warmly Welcomed

Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, Anthony Lawlor TD, has been informed by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar that Kildare County Council is to receive €20.8 million in overall grants for Road Allocation Funding in 2012.

“The funding is being allocated to a number of specific road projects throughout the County for improvement and maintenance. Of particular interest however is a 10% increase in funding for the Restoration Improvement Grant. In 2011 the funding available to Kildare County Council for general rehabilitation and maintenance of roads was €4.3 million, this has been increased to €4.8 million for 2012. This is part of a €15 million increase nationwide for such grants. The Restoration Improvement Grant was allocated to Councils, such as Kildare, who in previous years received lower allocations on a per mile basis. This increase in funding is welcomed because it gives local authorities the discretion to spend the funds as they see fit.

“Funding to the value of €410,000 has also been allocated in a Block Grant to Naas Town Council. This grant gives greater flexibility to Naas Town Council to select roads which they believe require work. It also allows for a greater consultation process with their colleagues in the County Council to allocate funding appropriately to roads in the Naas area.

“I warmly welcome this allocation of funding which shows a commitment by this Government to not only improve road services but to delegate more power to local authorities who are best placed to determine which roads and projects are most in need of funding on a local basis” concluded Anthony Lawlor TD.