asked the Minister for Health if he will state the cause of the delay in sanctioning the proposalsof Laoighis County Council for expenditure on large scale repairs to the county home at Mountmellick; and if he will now sanction the proposals so that the work may commence in the New Year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mountmellick County Home.
It was found necessary to review the proposals of a number of local authorities for the improvement of county homes with a view to the adoption generally of the most urgent remedies for the defects which are common to a large proportion of these institutions. Certain urgent works have in fact been approved and have been or are being undertaken at the county home, Mountmellick, and it is expected that approval to the outline proposals for large scale works will be conveyed to the county council in the near future.
In view of the fact that proposals for repairs to the county home at Mountmellick are under consideration by the Department for the past 12 months, could the Minister not give us a guarantee that he will have the sanction conveyed to Laoighis County Council, we will say, early in January, so that in February or March the work may be commenced? Further, is he aware of the fact that the buildings of the county home are in such very serious dilapidation that the estimate which the county council have already arrived at will be insufficient to meet it if the work is not started soon?
There would not be any unnecessary delay, as I have informed the Deputy already. The temporary works that are urgently necessary have already been sanctioned.
Does the Minister not consider that special consideration is necessary in the case of the Laoighis County Council in order to have the matter determined so that the repairs may be carried out?
There will not be any undue delay.