asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider making 100 per cent. grants available under the Special Employment Schemes in County Longford for the repairing of roads not taken over by the County Council, including bog roads and culs-de-sac, in view of the fact that Longford is now an undeveloped area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Longford Road Repairs.
24.
There are only two types of schemes under which full cost grants can be made available for the repair of non-county roads to farmers' houses, lands and bogs. One is under minor employment schemes, the primary purpose of which is to give a spell of employment during the winter months to men in receipt of unemployment assistance. The unit of distribution is the district electoral division and grants under this head are confined to areas in which the number of such men is sufficient to warrant a grant. The second is under Bog Development Schemes the purpose of which is to facilitate the production of turf by land owners and other private producers. Within the limit of the amount available these grants are authorised only when the quantity of turf produced is commensurate with the cost of the proposed work.
One hundred per cent. grants for roads cannot be made available outside these categories, but, as the Deputy is no doubt aware, non-county roads can also be considered under the Rural Improvements Scheme which provides for State grants ranging up to 90 per cent. of the cost of the work, depending on the average valuation of the lands of the benefiting farmers.