Irish Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey has announced details of the Government’s €411m investment programme in the regional and local roads network for 2010.

The overall allocation represents an average investment of €34m per month on Ireland’s regional and local roads.

Speaking about the investment programme, Minister Dempsey said: "This year’s allocation of over €411m will bring the total Exchequer investment since 1997 for the restoration and upgrading of regional and local roads by way of grants to over €6 billion. "In deciding on allocations for 2010 my priority is to protect that investment in the roads network and to carefully target resources to address, on a priority basis, the most urgently required repairs resulting from the extensive damage caused by the recent severe weather.

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"The cost for repairing damage caused by severe weather events is estimated by County Councils as €180m. I have also simplified the grants structure and given more flexibility to local authorities to direct funding to the priorities mentioned above."

The Minister added: "These grants, which supplement expenditure by local authorities from their own resources, represent a very significant investment at a time when public finances are under severe pressure. In order to increase the monies available for the maintenance and rehabilitation of road pavements, it has been necessary to reduce the grant allocations for major new road schemes and for major realignment schemes."

(NS/BMcC)