asked the Minister for Local Government if, in view of the steep increase in the price and the decline in the quality of imported coal, he will consider making extra grants available this year to the Donegal County Council for the purpose of repairing existing roads and making new roads into fuel producing areas.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Donegal Road Grants.
The maximum grants from the Road Fund for road works which can be made available have already been notified to all the local authorities concerned. There are no other funds at my disposal out of which grants for works on public roads could be made available.
It is for the local authority to propose the works on which the grants should be expended, subject, in the case of county roads, to the works being included in the five-year plan of county road improvements approved by the council. Local authorities have been reminded that, in the preparation of this plan, the linking up of important centres of food and fuel production with the towns and the main roads is one of the factors that should be taken into consideration.
In the particular case of County Donegal, the Department of Industry and Commerce have made a special grant of £18,250 available through my Department to Donegal County Council for the improvement of the public roads which will serve the new turf-fired electricity generating station at Gweedore.