Noel Dempsey
Question:5 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment the base year for his projected expenditure of £750 million on the county road system. [3440/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Non-National Road Funding.
Desmond J. O'Malley
Question:17 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for the Environment the studies, if any, he has carried out on the relative efficiency of local authority direct labour and private contractors for non-national road schemes; and if so, if he will agree that an efficiency audit on this subject is not required. [3377/96]
Michael McDowell
Question:28 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for the Environment whether the £146.36 million allocation for the restoration of non-national roads in 1996, which he announced at a press conference on 5 February 1996 had already been published in the Book of Estimates in December 1995 and that in spite of his announcement, no provision has been made for the funding of the restoration programme beyond 1996. [3363/96]
Ben Briscoe
Question:41 Mr. Briscoe asked the Minister for the Environment the base year and level of expenditure for his announcement of £750 million above what is available or planned in respect of expenditure for county roads. [3348/96]
Gerard Collins
Question:56 Mr. Collins asked the Minister for the Environment the amount spent on county roads in 1994 and 1995; the amount that will be spent in 1996; and the amount of his £750 million package that is included in the figure for 1996. [3349/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 17, 28, 41 and 56 together.
State grants for non-national roads in 1996, as shown in the 1996 Estimates for Public Services (Abridged Version), published in December 1995, amount to £146.36 million. An additional sum of £0.5 million is available, to be allocated to eligible county councils, under the Peace Process Initiative; this was provided for separately in the Abridged Estimates. Total grants available in 1996, therefore, amount to £146.86 million, which represents an increase of nearly 40 per cent on the base provision for 1995.
When I initiated the restoration programme for non-national roads last July, I allocated an additional £20 million to fund the programme in 1995. That special provision is repeated in 1996, and another £20 million has been added. The additional £40 million brings to £73 million the total grants available this year for works connected with the pavement restoration programme.
Expenditure of this magnitude requires that all possible steps should be taken to ensure the funds are spent efficiently and effectively and maximum output is achieved. The framework which I recently announced for the administration and operation of the restoration programme includes a comprehensive package of measures designed to ensure this.
Firm estimates of the cost of restoring the network are not available at present. Accordingly, a pavement condition study will be undertaken by consultants to determine the extent of the backlog of deficiencies in the network, and the cost of restoring it over a ten year period. This study should be completed before the end of the year and overall funding requirements can be determined at that stage.
Definitive judgments are not possible, on the basis of available data, on the efficiency of local authority road operations. I am, therefore, arranging for an independent audit to be carried out covering all aspects of this, including the relative efficiency of direct labour operations as against the use of private contractors. I expect that the study will identify scope for improvements leading to cost savings and higher output.
Details of the 1994 and 1995 grants for non-national roads are contained in a booklet which is available in the Oireachtas Library.
I acknowledge the increase the Minister has obtained this year in the allocation for non-national roads — at worst it is a £26 million increase. I am sure the Minister will thank Fianna Fáil for the pressure it put on the Government last year which enabled him to get the increase agreed at Cabinet.
On a number of occasions I have heard the Minister and the Taoiseach talk about a £750 million, ten year programme. Is that the case? With regard to the study the Minister has undertaken, there is a study from the Institute of Engineers undertaken in 1992 which showed the total cost of restoring the pavements of non-national roads would have been in the region of £1 billion at that time, with a subsequent rate of attrition of 20 per cent. Why the need for this further study when we know that the minimum cost will be £1 billion?
The reason for the study is that we do not know. We have disparate elements of data. I tried to get an overall view of the matter last year because I thought I could get support from the Cabinet for a comprehensive package. I was not able to get the data. We have some data which is helpful but it is not comprehensive. We have data from local authorities and county engineers which is subjective and does not comprise a uniform analysis. We are undertaking such an analysis. Some work was done last year to obtain an indicative figure. The figure arrived at was £750 million. By the end of this year I will have a more perfect figure in terms of the actual cost involved.
We have an infrastructure which has been valued at £16 billion. It is estimated that 30 per cent of the entire non-national road network is deficient. To bring the network up to standard a significant injection of additional funding is required. We are starting from a base of approximately £100 million a year plus the funding from the local authorities' own sources. It is possible, through the provision of additional Exchequer moneys and additional funding from the local authorities' own sources, to make a dramatic drive over a period of ten years to bring these roads up to desired standard. The sum of £750 million is an indicative figure of the scale of works required.
I am glad I was in a position to commence the process. Since my appointment non-national road allocations have been increased by 34 per cent.
The Minister mentioned funding from the local authorities' own sources. Will he confirm that the figure of £750 million will be made available exclusively by the Exchequer?
In relation to the road restoration programme the Minister mentioned that the local authorities will be requested to submit programmes to the Department which will be reviewed periodically. Will he confirm that the local authorities will have absolute discretion to decide which roads should be completed?
I have acknowledged that additional funding is available, but is it not the case that the Minister has reduced the discretionary road grants to local authorities by almost 50 per cent in order to provide £20 million of the £73 million required——
The question is very long.
——to fund the road restoration programme, with the result that less money will be available for maintenance work, such as the surface dressing of roads, and we will face a bigger problem in five years' time?
It would be a pointless exercise if, following the provision of a significant increase in Exchequer resources, the local authorities reduced proportionately the allocation from their own sources. I have made it plain to them — they have all responded favourably — that they should at least maintain the allocation from their own sources at its current level and, if possible, try to increase it in line with inflation. Most have done much better. The figure mentioned is the total required from Exchequer resources. I hope that this will be augmented significantly by funding provided from the local authorities' own sources, depending on the ability of individual councils to contribute.
When I examined the matter in some detail I discovered that there were ad hoc arrangements, in terms of the way potholes were filled and patching work was carried out. I am providing for a measure of regulation and the local authorities are co-operating. It is a matter for them and local authority members to decide which roads should be improved. I have indicated, however, that at least one kilometre should be done at a time, not six or 15 yards with the result that we end up with a crazy pavement pattern. The public should be able to see the value of the work being done.
The funding for pavement works has been combined in one allocation, rather than five or six subheads under which small sums would be available to local authorities, to ensure we obtain real value. It has been indicated to me by county engineers and managers and the chairman of local authorities that the impact this year will be remarkable. In coming years we should be able to achieve the objective we have been talking about for decades, that is, bringing non national roads up to an acceptable standard. This is the first real vote of confidence in rural Ireland in many a long year.
I commend the Minister for adopting a strategic approach to the restoration and reconstruction of county roads. The additional funding is welcome. It is important that we obtain value for money every inch of the way as it costs millions of pounds to improve small stretches of roads and billions of pounds for major roads.
The Minister mentioned that it is his intention to carry out an efficiency audit. Does he have a timeframe in mind so that we obtain a clear picture at an early stage as to which is the more efficient way of approaching roadworks, whether it be direct labour or private contractors? When does he expect to receive the results and when can we expect to see changes made?
I have received the agreement of the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Finance to engage the Efficiency Audit Group which operates under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach to oversee the independent study of the way roadworks are carried out in each local authority area, the aim of which is to ensure best practice, uniformity, high standards and maximum output. I do not have a definite timeframe in mind, but the benefits will be seen immediately it starts work. This may be an ongoing process——
On a case by case basis?
The objective is to examine the position in each local authority area in due course. It will take some time to complete this work. The study should prove of great benefit and it will not be necessary to await its conclusions to make the desired improvements.
The Government gave a commitment to devolve greater powers to the local authorities. It is a management function to nominate the roads for which funding should be made available. While I welcome the increases the problem in Cork is that the discretionary grant has been reduced by £1.6 million this year. As a consequence, insufficient funding will be available to carry out patching work on certain roads. Another problem is that after a period of ten years the condition of some roads will be such that it will be much more expensive to bring them up to the required standard. Will the Minister consider this aspect and perhaps next year allow the local authorities and local authority members more discretion to nominate roads?
If my memory serves me correctly, in excess of £13 million was allocated to the Cork local authority this year. A number of roads had to be specifically nominated for improvement by my Department in order to comply with European Union criteria. I have given as much discretion as possible to local authorities to identify roads that need improvement. the only criteria I laid down for the restoration programme relate to the quality of work on pavements, engineering qualifications and audits. I am sure nobody will quibble with that.
The fact is we are down £1.6 million.