asked the Minister for Local Government whether, as reported, the building of roads in Dublin City is being held up by his Department; if the Dublin Corporation succeeded in spending the money allotted to them for roads in each of the last six years, and if not, what were the years in which they failed to spend their allocation, and how much they failed to spend; if there are any extra grants or facilities available to them in recent years in connection with road building and maintenance; and if he will make a general statement on the road building programme in so far as Dublin City is concerned.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Road Building Programme.
32.
No road improvement scheme which is ripe to proceed in Dublin City is held up for want of funds, nor is there undue or avoidable delay on the part of my Department in dealing with road proposals submitted by the Corporation.
In each of the last six years a road improvement grant of £90,000 was made available to the Corporation from the Road Fund. The expenditure of each grant was not confined to the year in which it was allocated and balances not assigned to specific works at the close of a financial year could be carried forward. Cumulative unassigned balances carried forward at the end of each of the last six years were as follows:—
|
£ |
|
|
Year1955-56 |
36,235 |
|
,, 1956-57 |
102,695 |
|
,, 1957-58 |
192,695 |
|
,, 1958-59 |
138,471 |
|
,, 1959-60 |
126,280 |
|
,, 1960-61 |
Nil |
In each of those years the Corporation were also allocated a grant from the Employment and Emergency Schemes Vote, which could be spent on approved road or amenity schemes. Any balances of the grant not assigned to specific works at the end of the financial year to which it relates must revert to the Exchequer. In 1955/56, 1957/58 and 1958/59 such reversions amounted to £11,603, £29,046 and £4,013 respectively. In the other three years the grants were taken up to the full extent.
Last year a Road Fund grant was introduced to meet 40 per cent. Of the approved cost of upkeep works on trunk and link roads in the county borough and in Dún Laoghaire. Dublin Corporation's share in this grant for 1960/61 is estimated at £54,180. In addition the road improvement grant to the Corporation for 1961/62 has been increased from £90,000 to £200,000.
The Corporation have some 13 important road improvement schemes in progress in the city at present including reconstruction work on the Naas Road and at Fairview and improvement schemes on the Old Finglas and Howth Summit roads and additional schemes are due to start shortly. At least 30 further schemes are in course of formulation by the Corporation. It is likely that the Corporation's further roads programme will be largely influenced by the information obtained in the traffic survey being undertaken in the city this week and by the substantially increased Road Fund grants now being made available to the Corporation.