Vol. 411 No. 5
47 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Environment if he has received a submission from Kildare County Council entitled A Road Plan for Celbridge with a request for finance to implement this plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
53 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment when he will provide the necessary funding for the Celbridge Road Plan submitted to him by Kildare County Council on 6 August, 1991.
103 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment if he has received from Kildare County Council a copy of the roads plan for Celbridge in County Kildare, which incorporates (1) the improvement of an existing bridge over the River Liffey, (2) provision of a further new bridge in the vicinity of Castletown Gate, and (3) the provision of a number of relief roads, the purpose of which is to alleviate the traffic and parking chaos which currently exists, if his attention has been drawn to the urgent need to provide the necessary finance for such works in the 1992 Estimates; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the area has been identified as the second fastest growing centre of population in the country; if he will as a matter of urgency, provide the necessary finance to fund the road/bridge and footpath improvements outlined in the document; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 53 and 103 together.
Kildare County Council submitted a report entitled Roads Plan for Celbridge to my Department in August 1991. The proposals in the plan relate to non-national roads and do not require my approval. The cost of implementing them falls to be financed from the local authority's own resources, supplemented by the discretionary grants provided annually for such roads. The discretionary grant to Kildare County Council has been greatly increased in recent years, from £531,000 in 1986 to £1,868,000 in 1991, including a supplementary grant of £500,000 because of the special needs of the county. The determination of priorities in the expenditure of the grant is a matter for the local authority.
