asked the Minister for Finance if he will introduce legislation to remove the statutory demands made by the Office of Public Works on local authorities who are being forced to make payments to this agency which are greater than the revenue increases allowed by the Department of the Environment.
Written Answers. - Statutory Demands on Local Authorities.
614.
There are no proposals at present to legislate for the removal of the statutory demands made by the Commissioners of Public Works on Local Authorities.
615.
asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Office of Public Works have been allowed to increase their statutory demands on Galway County Council by 72 per cent over last year's demand.
The provisions of the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945, require that the Commissioners of Public Works issue demands on the relevant county councils based on the next succeeding year's estimate of cost of maintenance of arterial drainage projects, adjusted by the difference between the estimated and actual cost in the preceding year. Last year the commissioners were instructed to recover from the councils amounts less than had already been demanded. The maintenance programme undertaken by the commissioners was accordingly reduced. The demands in respect of the current year reflected the volume of maintenance requirements in 1983 following the reduction in the 1982 programme and, in the case of Galway County Council, represented an increase on the revised 1982 demand approximating to that mentioned by the Deputy. The 1983 programme of maintenance and its estimated cost are at present under review.