State switches focus from building to upkeep of local roads

The annual budget for the maintenance and repair of regional and local roads is set to rise 4% as the Government switches its focus from building new roads.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar yesterday confirmed that almost €333m will be available for to maintain and repair the non-national road network in 2014, despite an overall cut of 17% in the roads budget distributed to local authorities.

He said the increase in such funding for councils was due to a sharp reduction in funding for the construction of new roads.