Vol. 411 No. 1
490 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment if he has received proposals from Kildare County Council for road and bridge re-alignments at Shaw Bridge, Kilcock, County Kildare, if he is prepared to make the necessary funds available for such works in the current year or in 1992 in view of the necessity of this work; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As Shaw Bridge is located on a regional road, primary responsibility for the proposed project rests with the local authority, Kildare County Council. The cost of such works falls to be financed from local resources supplemented by the discretionary grants provided by my Department for such roads. In the case of Kildare County Council, these grants total £1,868,000 in 1991, including a supplementary grant of £500,000, for improvement works, because of the special needs of the county. The determination of priorities in the expenditure of these grants is a matter for the local authority.
In March 1989, consultants appointed by the local authority prepared a preliminary design and a cost estimate for a scheme involving improvements to Shaw Bridge and the immediate approach roads. These proposals were submitted to my Department with a request for special road grant assistance for the scheme. Having regard to the level of funds available to me for such grants and the competing demands in respect of other projects throughout the country, I am not in a position to provide a special grant in this case. The local authority has been so informed.
