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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 19 Feb 2002

Vol. 548 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Road Network.

I thank the Chair for the opportunity to raise this matter and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dan Wallace, who will reply to the debate. On 29 May 2001, I tabled an Adjournment debate matter on a similar issue and I received confirmation from the Minister for the Environment and Local Government that Cork County Council has suffered historically from low funding levels during the lifetime of the Government. We have been at the bottom of the league table in every year that the Government has been in office. I tabled parliamentary Question No. 260 on Tuesday, 5 February 2002, in which the Minister again published in league table format the levels of funding received by each local authority. It is true that Cork County Council has made progress; it is no longer bottom of the league table, but second last. Cork County Council will receive €3,184 per kilometre in 2002, compared to Roscommon at the bottom which will receive €3,138. That is a shocking indictment of the Minister's contribution to the welfare of the citizens of Cork, particularly the motorists who are our constituents.

A fair and equitable comparison should be drawn between Cork County Council and Kildare County Council because the latter has heavy volumes of commuter traffic, intensive agriculture and associated heavy traffic, large urban centres and a suburban commuter belt. It is similar to County Cork and, in particular, the south Cork area. In this league table, Kildare County Council received €10,104 per kilometre of non-national road, to use the Department's jargon. Yet, Cork County Council received less than one third of that figure. I find it hard to draw any conclusion other than that the Minister has been pushed around in his Department. He has been unable to deliver. He has received scant support from his colleagues in Cork and, in particular, from his two Cabinet colleagues, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Deputy Walsh.

Arising from parliamentary questions on 10 May 2001, the Cork county manager, Mr. Maurice Maloney, put his name to a report outlining the historical under-funding of roads in Cork. Our allocation in 2001 was £26.98 million. He made the point that if we had received the average funding that County Kildare got per kilometre, we would have received £109 million. If we had received the national average, we would have got £34.8 million. If we had received what Monaghan County Council got per kilometre, we would have received £46.4 million. If we had received what the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey's county of Meath got, we would have received £55.6 million. I do not want to hear any political claptrap about what was allocated five years ago and what is being allocated now.

Of course the Deputy does not because he was bottom of the league.

Motorists in Cork deserve better than the scant defence that they are getting 7% more than last year; so is everybody else, but we are at the bottom of the league table. In last year's contribution I made the point that this would be a key election issue. The Minister knows that because he represents part of the Blarney area under Cork County Council which has some of the worst roads in the county. The Minister should be ashamed to be represent the constituency with that record.

I assure the Deputy that I am not a bit ashamed.

It is appalling. Motorists are suffering enormously. The national car test was introduced, with which I agree, but it has become a money-making racket for those who operate it because people cannot keep their cars in an acceptable condition on sub-standard roads. We have sat back for too long. At least the county manager is beginning to flex his muscles, but nobody is listening at an official level in the Minister's Department or at a political level. The allocation as outlined in the reply to parliamentary Question No. 260 on 5 February 2002 calls into question the Minister's capacity to deliver for the constituents he represents.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Before turning to the specific issue raised in relation to Cork County Council, I wish to avail of this opportunity to outline the progress being made in relation to the significant resourcing of non-national roads. On 18 January this year, a record provision for non-national roads of €438.46 million was announced for 2002. This represents an increase of 9.4% on the 2001 outturn and a doubling of the original 1997 allocation of over €219 million. In making this provision the Government was again delivering, as it had in previous years, on its commitment to ensure an adequate financial base for the non-national roads programme.

This has been copperfastened by the national development plan which commits expenditure of €2.43 billion in the period to 2006, channelled through the regional operational programmes of the BMW and southern and eastern regional assemblies. This means that there will be significant expenditure on non-national roads in each of the years covered by the NDP. Under the plan, State grant expenditure in the period 2000-2002 was profiled at €1.04 billion. We will exceed this profile, spending €1.184 billion in this period. We will continue to invest heavily in non-national roads over the lifetime of the plan.

In relation to the specific issue raised by the Deputy, Cork County Council's non-national road grant allocation in 2002 is €36.87 million. This represents an increase of 10% on the 2001 outturn of €33.39 million and an increase of 84% on the council's initial 1997 allocation of over €20 million. This is the highest allocation countrywide by some €11.7 million.

Will the Minister of State yield on a point of order?

Cork County Council's 2001 submission seeking additional funding for non-national roads was examined in the Department and taken into account in determining the council's non-national roads grant allocation for 2002. Within this allocation for 2002, Cork County Council will receive grants of €3.23 million for discretionary maintenance, €2.73 million for discretionary improvement, €18.50 million for restoration improvement and €6.65 million for restoration maintenance, which represent increases respectively of 105%, 66%, 93% and 74% on the council's 1997 allocation.

Furthermore, Cork County Council was one of ten county councils selected for special grant aid to support housing and other related developments. Under this grant scheme the Government is committed to providing Exchequer funding of over €6.35 million to Cork County Council over the period 2001 to 2004 for road infrastructure, to support housing and other related developments, of which €330,000 was allocated in 2002.

In addition, Cork County Council have indicated they intend spending over €14.7 million from their own resources on non-national roads in 2002. This in effect means that the council in all will have almost €52 million available to them in 2002 for non-national roads, the highest figure of any county.

No thanks to the Minister of State.

I am sure the House will agree that the foregoing represents a very reasonable approach with significantly increased grants available to Cork County Council in 2002. In determining the 2002 grants, we were conscious of ensuring that the increased resources available will equip all authorities appropriately, including Cork County Council, in relation to their ongoing and special needs.

The Minister of State should be ashamed of himself.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.05 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 20 February 2002.

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