asked the Minister for Lands whether the Forestry Division of his Department is satisfied with the condition of the forestry bridge at Hollywood, County Wicklow.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Wicklow Bridge.
14.
(Cavan): The question appears to refer to a small bridge on a road leading from the village of Hollywood. The bridge is not on the property of, nor is it the responsibility of my Department. It has, hitherto, proved adequate for all my Department's needs.
If this bridge is not the responsibility of the Minister's Department, would he be in a position to let me know in whose Department the responsibility lies for the maintenance of this bridge?
(Cavan): I confirm that it is not on lands the property of my Department, nor is it the responsibility of my Department. I assume that it is the responsibility of the local county council. I might say that my Department have been in correspondence with the county council and that the county council have promised to get a report on the bridge.
Would the Minister be interested in a letter from me from the chief engineer in Wicklow stating that this bridge is not, and never was, the responsibility of the county council but that it was the responsibility of the Department of Lands? Has the Minister in his brief a statement to the effect that this bridge is in very bad condition, having a hole of approximately three feet wide into which a resident stuck a tar barrel in order to prevent people falling into the stream and also to try and offer some type of deterrent to tourists who have taken a wrong turning on the way to Wicklow Gap?
(Cavan): I can only repeat what I have said already to the Deputy. The bridge is not the responsibility of my Department.