asked the Minister for Local Government if, in view of the number of local improvement schemes awaiting implementation in County Cork and of the high level of unemployment there, he will increase the allocation for such schemes.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Cork Improvement Schemes.
114.
The amount allocated in the current year to County Cork in respect of the local improvements scheme shows an increase of £22,500, that is 75 per cent, over the allocation made in 1970-71. The allocations notified to all the county councils on 8th April, 1971 absorb all the funds available this year for these schemes.
Is the Minister not aware that, in view of the exceptionally large number of applications to be dealt with, the Cork County Council had to close down on the receipt of applications? Would he not agree that the £52,500 allocated to Cork, the biggest county in Ireland, with quite a sizeable part of it included in the western counties, does not compare favourably with an allocation of £112,000 to the Minister's county and with £129,000 to Mayo? Will he not agree that Cork has fared badly in view of the big backlog of schemes that existed when the Department of Finance was in charge of such works? In view of all these factors, would he not agree that a grant of £52,500 is not appropriate? Did the Minister hear that it is accepted that these grants were allocated mainly on political grounds? The nature of the allocation seems to bear that out.
That would not happen in Ireland.
That is a separate question. It is a very long question.
Does the Minister think that a council that has had to close down on the receipt of applications in the largest county in Ireland has been dealt with fairly with an allocation of £52,500, taking into account the number of schemes and the employment annulment order of last month?
I do not accept any of the allegations the Deputy has made. They are not based on fact, and if he had taken the care even to listen to what I said here last week when this matter was discussed or, indeed, to read the Official Report where what I said was correctly contained, he would see the basis on which these moneys were allocated. He should not be coming back into the House one week later to make false allegations that the money was allocated on a political basis. There is nothing further from the fact. I repeat that these allocations are based on the proportion of Special Employment Schemes Office grants, that is, the minor employment, bog development and rural improvements schemes allocated to Cork in the five year period from 1963-64 to 1967-68, that is, the last five years in which the SESO schemes operated. It was on that basis the allocations have been made under the local improvement schemes since those schemes started about three years ago. In this year an extra allocation of £500,000 was made to western counties. This was made in the same proportion approximately as their allocations were made last year. In the case of West Cork it was decided that approximately half of the 1970-71 County Cork allocation of £30,000, which would be £15,000, related to the western part of the county, and the additional allocation of £19,500, which is specifically for West Cork, bears roughly the same relationship to £15,000 as the additional allocations given to the other western counties bear to the allocations which they had last year. The proportions are not mathematically exact because of minor adjustments, but the allocations for all the western counties, including West Cork, were determined on a similar basis.
Would the Minister say——
This is not a matter for debate here. The Deputy may put a question.
I wish to put a question. The Chair was in a most reasonable mood today in allowing additional questions and, now that the business is almost closed, I do not think he should move in the other direction. Does the Minister not accept that he did not answer my question? I asked him what number of schemes await development in West Cork. Did he trouble to find that out?
The Deputy did not ask that question. I have some information here, so I will give it to the Deputy.
The number of local improvement schemes.
There were 238 applications for the whole of County Cork. The number in Galway, Mayo, Leitrim, in all those counties, is over 500.
Is the Minister not aware that Cork County Council closed down on the receipt of applications— must I repeat it again—having regard to the fact that moneys were not available to implement them? The council felt it would be creating a false impression if they were to accept applications that could not be carried out for a number of years. That is the reason for the figure of 250 odd.
The amount allocated for local improvement schemes for this year was based on the average allocation made in the last five years of the SESO schemes. An additional amount has been made available to western counties this year and West Cork is included in that. A special additional allocation has been made available for that area. I cannot give the Deputy any further information, as these are the facts.