Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 2

Written Answers. - Roads Restoration Programme.

James McDaid

Question:

15 Dr. McDaid asked the Minister for the Environment if he will allocate part of the restoration of the non-national roads grant to urban areas or if he will make a special allocation for restoration work in urban areas. [3019/96]

Máirín Quill

Question:

111 Miss Quill asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to put in place a ten year restoration programme for city roads in parallel with his recently announced ten year restoration programme for county roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6632/96]

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 111 together.

As I indicated in replying to previous questions on this subject, the decision to undertake a special restoration programme for regional and county roads took account of the seriously deficient condition of significant lengths of these roads, a fact which is attested to by the views of public representatives in this House and elsewhere. The main problems with the non-national road network are to be found in county council areas and these were given high priority in the allocation of the 1996 non-national road grants.

A total of £8 million in discretionary block grants has been allocated to urban road authorities in 1996 for works on roads in their areas. The level of these allocations has increased significantly in recent years, from £5.5 million in 1993 to £8 million in 1996, an increase of 45 per cent. In addition, a sum of £4.07 million has been allocated to urban authorities in 1996 under the EU co-financed scheme of grants for improvement projects and under a special, once-off scheme for the restoration of road pavements in areas where exceptional damage has been caused by work connected with water or sewerage schemes.

In all, therefore, grant allocations of £12.07 million have been made to urban authorities in 1996, an increase of £2 million on the grants paid in 1995.