asked the Minister for the Environment whether he is aware that West Cork County Council have no funds to pay supplementary grants outstanding for more than 12 months; and, if so, if he will approve loans.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Cork Supplementary Grants.
7.
Cork County Council are responsible for the operation, including the financing, of the house purchase loans and supplementary grants schemes in their area. Local authorities are required to use for these purposes income from their capital receipts from special loan prepayments and 55 per cent of the proceeds of sales of local authority houses. The balance is made up by borrowing from the Local Loans Fund.
Cork County Council's expenditure on these schemes in the nine month period to 30 September 1980 was £5,039,400. This expenditure was financed by issues from the fund totalling £4,833,000 and capital receipts from internal sources should have been sufficient to more than meet the shortfall. In these circumstances, it is not clear that any issue from the Local Loans Fund to meet supplementary grant payments would be justified nor is it clear why there should have been any delay in paying grants in the West Cork area.