asked the Minister for Justice if his Department will contribute towards a local improvement scheme in respect of an accommodation road in the townlands of Gola, Roughill and Derrinstowny, County Monaghan in the light of the amount of use made of it by Garda vehicles.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Monaghan Road.
9.
There are no funds at my disposal from which a contribution towards road improvements could be made.
Is the Minister aware that this private laneway is used extensively daily by Garda vehicles? The people base their request for a contribution on the fact that the Department of Lands made contributions towards local improvements schemes.
I do not know the basis on which the Department of Lands make contributions. Possibly they have statutory power to do so but there are no funds at my disposal from which I could make any payment towards road improvements in this case. If there is as much traffic as the Deputy says, he might, perhaps, raise the matter with the local authority with a view to having it declared a public road. They might take it in charge and remove the occupiers responsibility for it.
There will be a request to have it declared a public road but it must be brought up to standard through the LI scheme and the contributions are fairly large. Users of the laneway felt that the authorities, whether Garda, Army or Customs, who are using it as extensively as the local users, have as much obligation to make a contribution as residents, seeing that the Department of Lands would contribute if they had a forest or part of a forest in the laneway and make a contribution similar to that of the local residents.
They would consider it on the basis that they were analogous to a resident, that they had land or property in the area. Unfortunately, I have no funds for this purpose.
Question No. 10 withdrawn.