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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Nov 1984

Vol. 353 No. 9

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Galway Roads.

22.

asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware that Galway County Council have had to abandon the maintenance of some county roads in the Galway Gaeltacht due to lack of funds and the action he proposes to take to have these roads improved to ensure that normal traffic can continue to use the roads and avoid the extreme hardship at present being caused to local residents.

23.

asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the deplorable state of many county roads in County Galway; if he will agree that the financial allocation for maintenance of the county roads in Galway taking inflation into account is 45.9 per cent of the 1977 allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 23 together.

I am so aware.

Responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of county roads in County Galway rests with Galway County Council. The overall road grant allocated by my Department to the council in 1984 at £4.19 million represented an increase of 26 per cent on the grant of £3.33 million paid to the council in 1982 and an increase of 352 per cent on the grant of £0.928 million paid to the council in 1977. The council may, at their discretion, apply the block grant to the improvement of county roads. The council's block grant this year amounts to £812,000 compared to £733,000 in 1982 and £400,000 in 1977. State road grants were never payable in respect of the maintenance of county roads.

The provision made by the council for financing road works from their own resources, including the rate support grant, amounts to £1.55 million in 1984 compared with £1.74 million in 1982 and £1.38 million in 1977. The council's provision for 1984 reflects the fact that the charges for services and the increases in the levels of rates in 1983 and in 1984 applicable to Galway County Council are less than the corresponding typical figures for other areas.

24.

asked the Minister for the Environment if he will confirm whether the Government have decided to up-grade the status of the Galway-Ros a' Mhíl road to be a national secondary road.

The national primary and secondary road system is now generally regarded as established, having been formally declared in 1977 following a long process of evaluation and consultation. I do not envisage any upgrading of regional roads, including the Galway to Ros a' Mhíl Road, for the foreseeable future.

Is the Minister aware that some members of the Government party during the recent election made what was termed to be an official announcement to the effect that the Government intended reclassifying this road to be a national secondary road? Am I to take it from the Minister's reply that that announcement, made to influence the voters in that election, was not correct?

That is a separate question.

I am not aware of the announcement having been made and, therefore, I am not prepared to comment on it.

The Minister will not doubt me that the announcement was made and was a very prominent feature of the news on Radio na Gaeltachta a short time before that election took place. It was received with some joy by the people who felt that at the last the Government were recognising the serious condition of the road and the need for some improvement. If the Minister is saying that he did not know of the announcement then the person who made that statement did not have the authority of the Minister to do so.

The Deputy is making a speech on this matter. He is entirely out of order.

May I take it from the Minister's reply that the person who issued the statement I referred to did so without the authority of the Minister or the Government?

In an election none of us is a Member of the House and no announcement can be made by any candidate on behalf of the Department. As candidates in the election are not Members they could not have made announcements as Deputies or on behalf of the Department of the Environment. I was not in the Department of the Environment at the time of the last election.

What does the Minister mean when he said that candidates in the election were not Members of the House?

They are not Deputies. There are many candidates in an election and not all of them are successful.

A Member of the House could be a candidate, if he so wished.

I am not going to permit a debate on this matter. I am moving on to the next question.

What the Minister has said is of no significance. The statement I referred to was made during an election campaign for political advantage and it now transpires that it was a lie. I want to establish what the position is. People cannot be allowed to make public statements for political advantage without some authority and be allowed to get away with it.

The Deputy will have to table a separate question about this matter.

May I take it that it is not proposed to make any change in regard to the status of that road?

I have answered that question already.

In case the Minister doubts anything I have said I should like to inform him that the person who allegedly made the statement was the candidate for the Taoiseach's party. I am aware that the Minister's party did not have a candidate in that election. These people have to be pulled up. They cannot be allowed to go around making such statements and get away with it.

I am moving to the next question.

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