asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether plans and estimates for the provision of a sewerage scheme for the town of Mountrath, County Leix, have been received or sanctioned by his Department, and if he can now state the amount of the grant it is proposed to allocate for carrying out this work.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mountrath Sewerage Scheme.
Plans for the provision of a sewerage scheme for Mountrath were received in my Department. On examination certain modifications were considered necessary, and the plans were returned to the Board of Health in November last for consideration by the Board's engineer.
Revised plans have not yet been submitted. The allocation of a grant would rest with the Minister for Finance, but no recommendation on the matter can be made until the plans are approved.
In view of the rather alarming increase in the number of able-bodied unemployed in the towns concerned, will the Parliamentary Secretary not take special steps to expedite the consideration of and decision upon these applications?
I suggest to the Deputy that the cause of the delay in having these works put into operation does not rest with my Department. It rests primarily with the local bodies concerned. In relation to the Mountrath scheme the plans have not yet been received and I suggest to the Deputy that he could expedite matters nearer home.
I suggest to the Parliamentary Secretary that he should take some interest in seeing that the Department of Local Government and Public Health employ competent consulting engineers in these matters.