asked the Minister for the Environment if he will arrange for the allocation of extra funding in order that Kildare County Council might, as a matter of urgency, undertake improvements to main and county roads; whether, having regard to the condition of such roads in County Kildare, the funds allocated already are insufficient; whether the excessive traffic generated in the region is a major contributory factor to the condition of such roads; whether there is an urgent need to carry out special road improvement works in respect of main and county roads in the counties immediately adjacent to Dublin; if it would be possible to obtain EC funding for such projects; if he has received communication from Kildare County Council indicating the amount of funding required to put roads in the county in a proper state of repair; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers - Kildare Road Improvement Funding.
The provisions available for road grants during 1988 have been fully allocated and there are no other sources of finance available to me from which additional grants could now be made. Primary responsibility for the networks of main and county roads, including the assessment of the need for improvement and maintainance works on them, rests with the local authorities. The extent and nature of the traffic using roads in an area are factors which influence the need for maintenance and improvement works on them and would be reflected in the results of assessments carried out by the local authorities.
My Department is aware of the general condition of the networks of main and county roads throughout the country as a result of ongoing contact with local authorities as well as submissions received from individual authorities, including Kildare County Council, and representative bodies such as the County and City Engineers' Association. Detailed information has been received from all county councils, in response to a departmental circular issued in May 1987, about the condition of the network of county roads together with estimates of the level of investment required to remedy deficiencies in the network. This information is being considered in the context of the preparation of a blueprint for road development which I intend to publish within the next few months. The blueprint will address the question of the needs of the entire public road network in the long term. It will also address the question of the funding of the investment required from State, local authority and private sector resources as well as the scope for assistance from EC sources of finance.
Under existing arrangements, the cost of works on main and county roads falls to be financed by a combination of State road grants and local resources. The relevant State grants are the block grant, county road strengthening grant and special improvement grants. In the case of Kildare County Council, the grants allocated under these headings in 1988 total £1.204 million which is 18 per cent greater than the amount paid under the corresponding grants in 1987. I am satisfied that the local authority has received its fair share of the overall grants under these headings. The level of expenditure from local resouces is a matter for determination by the local authority.