The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993[1] and commenced operations on 23 December 1993 in accordance with S.I.

County councils remain responsible for local and regional roads, as well as various tasks like setting speed limits.

Since 2007 it has managed the eToll toll payment interoperability system operated by Egis Projects.

[3] In the previous decade, the NRA was mainly concerned with the extensive expansion of Ireland's motorway network under the National Development Plan (NDP).

In the contract award procedure for the construction of the Dundalk Western Bypass motorway, which commenced with a call for interest issued in 2001, failure by the National Roads Authority to notify an unsuccessful bidding consortium, Eurolink, that they would not be appointed as construction contractor gave rise to a legal case raised in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2008.