Vol. 397 No. 10
22 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for the Environment if an additional rate support grant was paid to Naas Urban District Council, County Kildare, in January 1990; the amount which was paid; the reason it was paid; if there were any conditions attaching to the payment; and the reason a similar payment was not made to the other local authorities who were experiencing difficulty in adopting their Estimates at the same time.
No such payment was made in January 1990 to the local authority in question or to any other local authority. An additional rate support grant amount of £180,000 was paid to Naas Urban District Council in 1989 to relieve the council's critical financial position. There were no conditions attached to the payment. I am concerned about the financial position of the urban district council, which has deteriorated considerably over the past number of years. The commissioners and management are aware of my concern. The situation is the subject of ongoing discussions between my Department and the local authority with the purpose of, first, containing the deteriorating position and, second, drawing up a financial programme to eliminate the accumulated deficit on current account over a period of time. Already there are hopeful signs that the worsening position has been contained but a considerable deficit remains to be eliminated. It is my intention to meet the urban council's commissioners to discuss the council's financial position and the commissioners are aware of my intention in this matter. Recognising the sustained pace of development in the town of Naas and its environs, it is essential that the council's finances be restored to a sound footing and I am confident that this can be implemented by the urban district council over a period of time.
As regards the final part of the question, I made additional rate support grant allocations of varying amounts to 24 other local authorities in December 1989 in addition to Naas Urban District Council.
