Vol. 473 No. 6
167 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment the reason for the non-national road grant of £230,000 to Tralee, County Kerry, in view of the fact that the grants to the larger towns of Dundalk and Drogheda, County Louth are £140,000 and £135,000 respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2252/97]
The non-national road grant allocation of £230,000 in 1997 to Tralee Urban District Council comprises a discretionary block grant of £130,000 and a specific improvement grant of £100,000 under the EU co-financed scheme of grants for improvement works on non-national roads which are of economic benefit and help to generate employment. The block grant allocated to Tralee corresponds to the grants of £140,000 and £135,000 allocated respectively to Dundalk UDC and Drogheda Corporation.
168 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if he will weight non-national road grants in favour of counties who have a higher proportion of traffic on their roads in spite of the fact that these counties may have a smaller road mileage within their boundary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2253/97]
The discretionary grant allocations (including restoration programme grants) to county councils for the improvement and maintenance of non-national roads are allocated on a pro-rata mileage basis with some limited special provision for the special needs of particular areas. This is consistent with the approach adopted in the determination of these allocations over the years. Other strands of non-national roads funding are projectbased; projects are selected having regard to the EU eligibility criteria governing these schemes, the merits of the projects submitted for consideration by different authorities, and the competing demands from different areas on the limited funds available.
The consultants' report on the condition of the road pavement on non-national roads in county council areas is expected to be completed by the end of February. The report will establish the cost of eliminating the backlog of deficiencies on the regional and local road network in these areas and will allow funds for removing the backlog to be more directly related to needs. However, road mileage will continue to be a relevant criterion in determining overall grant allocations to individual county councils.
