Cork gets largest share of road funding for 2025 which rises by 8%

The single biggest allocation for Cork City Council is €300,000 for the upgrade of Clontarf Bridge. File picture: Larry Cummins

The Government has given councils €713m for 2025 to fund the maintenance and upgrade of the country's local and regional roads, an 8% increase on the 2024 allocation.

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said €70m will be invested in projects identified as essential 'economic drivers' under the National Development Plan. These include the ‘Shannon Crossing’ at Ballina, the Killaloe bypass and the Coonagh to Knockalisheen distributor road in Limerick City.

Cork County Council got the largest allocation with nearly €83m, but it has the biggest road network of any local authority in the country with 12,000kms.

€713m

investment for regional and local roads in 2025

broken down by City & County Councils

Carlow: €8,946,800
Cavan: €19,193,150
Clare: €39,389,500
Cork City: €11,762,000
Cork County: €82,838,900
Donegal: €42,425,000
Dublin City: €8,946,800
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown: €35,000
Fingal: €182,500
Galway City: €3,928,500
GalwayCounty: €43,650,160
Kerry: €33,360,450
Kildare: €20,828,600
Kilkenny: €19,570,700
Laois: €14,454,450
Leitrim: €14,476,650
Limerick City & County: €38,939,050 
Longford: €10,259,100
Louth: €10,992,550
Mayo: €40,566,060
Meath: €26,567,800
Monaghan: €18,008,350
Offaly: €17,235,400
Roscommon: €22,990,000
Sligo: €18,883,000
South Dublin: €49,000
Tipperary: €42,053,390
Waterford City & County: €23,618,750
Westmeath: €14,671,200
Wexford: €23,310,350
Wicklow: €15,202,800

For a breakdown of all roads within each City and County Council go HERE

For a breakdown of all roads within Cork City and County Councils go HERE

The bulk of it, €45m, will be for maintenance and upgrades, while nearly €4.5m to be spent on making some roads climate-proof and carrying out drainage works to ensure others are not eroded by flooding.

The grant also includes €6.8m towards the costs of damage done to roads in the area by recent weather events, while around €2m has been set aside to upgrade 20 bridges in the county, several of which were damaged by storms.

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The re-alignment of the R598 from Old Court, Skibbereen to Baltimore has received €1.6m funding.

Meanwhile, €350,000 has been allocated to progress the design of better pedestrian and cyclist connectivity between the Cork harbour cross-river ferry and railway stations in Cobh and a further €250,000 for the continued design of the northern ring road in Midleton.

The overall allocation for Co Cork is almost the same as last year. Limerick City and County Council, which is roughly the size of North Cork, received a total allocation of nearly €39m.

The second biggest allocation nationally went to Co Galway, with €43m, while Tipperary and Donegal got €42m each and Mayo €40m. By comparison Cork City Council received just short of €12m, which was €2m less than Co Leitrim and €7m less than Cavan and Monaghan.

The single biggest allocation for the city council is €300,000 for the upgrade of Clontarf Bridge.

Kerry County Council got €33m. Significant projects there include €3.5m towards the Tralee northern relief road project and a further €75,000 to progress the Kenmare relief road.

“The people want tar and that is what we will give them,” junior minister Michael Healy-Rae and his TD brother Danny said.

Michael Healy-Rae maintained the increase in the national roads budget is a sign of government intent going forward and stated his county’s allocation is up 10% on last year.