NRA now control all roads

NFD100

'Secret deal' put the NRA in charge of fixing potholes


SUNDAY INDEPENDENT - Sunday September 27 2009

TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey is facing a furious revolt by backbench Fianna Fail TDs over a "secret" decision to give the National Roads Authority (NRA) control over all local and county roads. One of the staple tasks of rural TDs and councillors for generations has been the fixing of potholes outside of their constituents homes.

However, this power is now gone. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, a prominent Fianna Fail TD said a change "no one knew about'' until last week was "the best-kept secret'' in Ireland.

The decision to transfer authority over rural and county roads to the NRA "super quango" was made by circular on August 16.

The new agreement has been in situ since September 1. However, TD Sean Fleming has expressed serious concerns over another ministerial decision which goes against the belief of the McCarthy Report that the power of quangos in Ireland should be reduced.

Mr Fleming, the chairman of the Dail Environment Committee, said his colleagues would be particularly concerned that the department has "stitched into the powers of the new NRA the requirement that they do not have to meet or consult with members of the public or ordinary TDs''.

This means that, unlike the old system, the €450m local roads budget will not be subject to the normal tools of parliamentary accountability such as Dail questions or parliamentary committees.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr Fleming said that "this is yet another HSE-style layer of bureaucracy, a HSE for rural roads and potholes if you like''.

But he also noted that "in fact it will be even worse than the HSE for at least they can be questioned by Dail committees. This NRA quango will be accountable to no one."

It is believed that one of the key factors behind the move is that the conclusion of Ireland's motorway network means the NRA is running out of projects to supervise.

Roryhy

Local authorities are inefficient at doing this work, maybe this is a chance to bring in private crews that will actually get the work done properly. I for one am up for a change in this area!

Chris_533976

The best kept secret in Ireland? We knew about plans for this on here for months.

Sponge Bob

We knew the NRA were getting REGIONAL roads, the local and county provision is new on me !

What happens to all these local authority road engineers ??

Tech3

Sponge Bob wrote: »

What happens to all these local authority road engineers ??

New NRA recruits for local and regional roads?

At least road tax will be going to actual road repairs now. NRA were going to be basically a waste of expenditure after the MUI's really.

Chris_533976

I guess it makes sense really.

"National Roads Authority" could mean "The Authority in control of National (ie: N) roads"

it could also mean "The Authority in control of all roads in the Nation"

Useless trivia

L1011

If they're getting ALL roads, that basically means they're going to become a copy of the NIRS. Which works quite well...

BluntGuy

Good move I reckon.

One of the staple tasks of rural TDs and councillors for generations has been the fixing of potholes outside of their constituents homes.

This doesn't qualify as a valid reason to keep roads in the hands of incompetent councils. At least the NRA has some level of expertise.

Now they can't get the "pothole vote"... good riddance I say, maybe people might start voting a little more intelligently.

Of course now, when I send an e-mail to the NRA regarding the state of regional roads, they can no longer pass the buck.

As for the comparison with the HSE. Well, the HSE has been a disaster, but not because it's a centralised body, but because it's a badly run and mismanaged centralised body.

road_high

Good idea I reckon. They will be able to achieve efficiencies of scale that 30 odd councils dispersed allover the place could not achieve.
Surely they would be in a far better position tendering for tar, chippings and the like.
As far as I am concerned, County councils are some of the biggest quangos we have

murphaph

I'd say more like 88 roads authorities at the moment assuming it's the same as planning (town councils individually responsible for their patch) than 30. This is a sensible move but in typical gombeen style it is kept relatively hush-hush for fear of the electorate who live down country lanes getting their knickers in a twist (which they won't).

The NIRS is a body to copy and Ireland is small enough for a single body to be in charge of all roads. Hopefully a money saver too-will the best signage designers (not many decent ones out there) be chosen to design signs for the whole country? Will we see some standardisation of signage and traffic signals? Let's hope so.

NFD100

Totally agree. Very good move to achieve best practice, consistency, savings and efficiencies across the entire road network. NIRS is the model to emulate.

Only people to fear it are gombeen politicians, other vested interests and the 'local road 'engineers'.

The councils have been appalling at maintaining their roads and have squirreled away the money in good times for other purposes. They have received small fortunes over the last 10 years and that is not counting all the motor tax money they got to keep.

Imagine a country with good, maintained non-national roads, well signed and lined with consistent signage at junctions. It's what the rest of Europe takes for granted....

GerardKeating

NFD100 wrote: »

However, this power is now gone. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, a prominent Fianna Fail TD said a change "no one knew about'' until last week was "the best-kept secret'' in Ireland.

The decision to transfer authority over rural and county roads to the NRA "super quango" was made by circular on August 16.

Any decision which the back benchers are against must be a goods idea

bk

NFD100 wrote: »

TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey is facing a furious revolt by backbench Fianna Fail TDs over a "secret" decision to give the National Roads Authority (NRA) control over all local and county roads. One of the staple tasks of rural TDs and councillors for generations has been the fixing of potholes outside of their constituents homes.

This is such bs, I know from personal experience, that if you call the roads department of most councils and report a pot hole, the council is then required to fill it within three days.

Anybody can do this and in fact the TD's and councillors call the exact same number and speak to the same person and their report gets put into the system in exactly the same way and ends up getting handled in the same timescale as any other report.

It is just that many people unfortunately don't know this and only talk to their councillor and then think he is great like he went out and filled the pothole himself or that he did them some special favour. The truth is if you called the council directly yourself, it'd probably get filled faster.

D'Peoples Voice

NFD100 wrote: »

'Secret deal' put the NRA in charge of fixing potholes
One of the staple tasks of rural TDs and councillors for generations has been the fixing of potholes outside of their constituents homes.

I'm bloody delighted, this was one of the greatest gripes I had against culchies,
they would have TDs looking into getting potholes on LOCAL roads fixed,
when it has NOTHING to do with TDs,
because it does not involve a change in existing legislation or new legislation - hence it has nothing to do with a TD.

Such requests should only ever have been made to LOCAL councillors who would have a say in LOCAL authorities and their spending.

Whats the difference - well every minute a TD spends on a LOCAL issue is a minute lost that could be spent on improving the legislation for the country. It was about time every culchie learned the difference between a TD and a LOCAL councillor.

Sponge Bob

It will take the NRA 3-5 years to get to grips with this , meanwhile they will also be a convenient scapegoat for the complete lack of cash in the country and will no doubt prove as adept at refusing to answer emails like they are on the subject of the Westlink Toll farce.

The good news, I suppose , is that you may email the NRA in future with GPS Co Ordinates of potholes and if they are not filled within the 3 days the state will have to pay for any subsequent damage to vehicles on that road .

G_R

Deffinitely a good thing, Its stupid to have 80+ town/borough/city/county councils dealing with roads.
A centralised agency with control over all of them will (hopefully) lead to:

• standardisation of roadsigns
• better road quality overall
• less stupid reasons for people to vote TD's into Dail (ah he fixed me pothole, surely he has the skills needed to draft and vote on legislation)
• Cheaper road projects as they will be able to do alot more bulk buying

And as reagrds the reference to the HSE, the HSE could work well if it was run properly, the NRA have so far, on the whole, done a good job (aside from the odd crazy junction design). They're projects are more often than not on time and have often been way ahead of schedule.

just out of curiosity, what will be the story with gritting roads after ice or snow etc, NRA or CC

Chris_533976

Snow and ice? Well with budget cuts I dont expect any salting/gritting this winter. Also, 'who grits' is probably something that hasnt been thought about, and only when the first chaotic day of ice comes around will there be a pitched battle between the NRA and the CCs about who should do it, each blaming the other while shirking responsibilities and nothing being done.

marmurr1916

A welcome change, although not as revolutionary as some people might think:

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads, including bridges, in its area, is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

New arrangements for the management and administration of regional and local road grants were introduced on 1st September 2009. These arrangements were put in place on foot of the existing statutory framework which places responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads with local authorities.

From 1st September, last, the National Roads Authority agreed to undertake the management of the Regional and Local Roads Investment Programme on behalf of my Department. The National Roads Authority will recommend grant allocations for regional and local roads for 2010 and subsequent years, which will be subject to final approval by the Minister for Transport. A circular was issued to all local authorities on 18 August last to advise them of the Department’s agreement with the NRA. The authorities were further advised that all correspondence in relation to regional and local road grants, including correspondence in relation to individual projects and programmes should be addressed to the NRA from 1st September 2009.

The handling of representations from public representatives in relation to the regional and local roads investment programme remains a function of my Department. The 2010 grant allocations will be announced early in the New Year.

http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2009-09-22.1147.0

There are two sources of funding for regional and local roads: local authority budgets and central government funding.

Under the new system, the county councils and other local authorities will still decide which regional and local roads should be priorities for improvements, especially where the money for those improvements comes from their own resources.

However, the NRA will now recommend on the allocation of central government grants for improving regional and local roads, with the final decision to be taken by the Department.

Hopefully, this filtering process will mean that the NRA will prioritise road improvements based on more rational criteria than may have been applied by the Department and hopefully the NRA's recommendations for how the central government grants should be spent will be accepted in almost all cases.

Unfortunately, public representatives will still be able to make requests 'in relation to the regional and local roads investment programme' directly to the Department.

It would be much better if those requests had to be filtered through the NRA.

This is a good step but it's only a start.

Ultimately, all decisions about the Regional and Local Roads Investment Programme should be handed over to the NRA and the NRA should also act as a central purchasing and procurement agency for local and regional roads.

Wild Bill

There is doubtless a bit of political cynicism in this with the looming cash shortage. However the current Local Authorities system is terrible. The quantum leap in the standards of maintenance, lines, signs, systematic approach, standardisation and general management whenever a route has been transferred to the NRA has been dramatic.

Just one tiny example: the "traffic calming" portals built on the national routes where they pass through villages. The design and the idea was excellent - but - they turn into a dangerous hazard if the lights and reflectors are not rigorously maintained. And that was the job of the Local Authority. Thus instead of "calming" measures we get invisible muddy concrete obstructions that are clobbered night after night.

Everywhere else in Europe can maintain these sort of features but it is beyond the interest, understanding or organizational ability of our beloved TD-friendly LAs.

Wild Bill

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Snow and ice? Well with budget cuts I dont expect any salting/gritting this winter. Also, 'who grits' is probably something that hasnt been thought about, and only when the first chaotic day of ice comes around will there be a pitched battle between the NRA and the CCs about who should do it, each blaming the other while shirking responsibilities and nothing being done.

In fairness to both CCs and NRA they should be pointing fingers at their political masters if the issue has not been covered in the relevant legislation or structure. If I have not been given the brief (and the budget) then don't come whining to me when you skid. Ain't my problem. :cool:

icdg

marmurr1916 wrote: »

A welcome change, although not as revolutionary as some people might think:



http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2009-09-22.1147.0

There are two sources of funding for regional and local roads: local authority budgets and central government funding.

Under the new system, the county councils and other local authorities will still decide which regional and local roads should be priorities for improvements, especially where the money for those improvements comes from their own resources.

However, the NRA will now recommend on the allocation of central government grants for improving regional and local roads, with the final decision to be taken by the Department.

Hopefully, this filtering process will mean that the NRA will prioritise road improvements based on more rational criteria than may have been applied by the Department and hopefully the NRA's recommendations for how the central government grants should be spent will be accepted in almost all cases.

Unfortunately, public representatives will still be able to make requests 'in relation to the regional and local roads investment programme' directly to the Department.

It would be much better if those requests had to be filtered through the NRA.

This is a good step but it's only a start.

Ultimately, all decisions about the Regional and Local Roads Investment Programme should be handed over to the NRA and the NRA should also act as a central purchasing and procurement agency for local and regional roads.

Indeed the change is only an administrative change in relation to funding allocation. The actual statutory powers remain with the councils and for this to change would have required primary legislation.