I thank the Minister for coming to the House to reply to this matter. Kildare has some of the best designed and constructed roads and road networks in the country. However, I am not seeking extra funding for these roads; I am concerned about the county rural roads which in many cases are in a deplorable state. I recently visited many of these areas following strong rep resentations from local parents, farmers and business owners. The areas in question are Ballyteague, Allenwood, Carbury and Rathangan, and other areas in west County Kildare are affected. Many of the roads in question are adjacent to or travel through the County Kildare boglands.
In many instances the people involved are being deprived of basic services, such as milk supplies and refuse collections. However, most importantly, many are being deprived of a school bus service. Due to the appalling state of the roads young children are being forced to walk distances to meet the school bus.
The condition of these roads has been aggravated by the poor weather conditions of recent months and increased traffic. While I understand and recognise that the Minister has increased funding to Kildare County Council for repairs to county roads, it is not compatible with the urgent need to have the roads in these areas brought up to an acceptable standard. In an effort to address this problem there is a need for major reconstruction work to be done, which involves extra funding from the Department, in hand with that of Kildare County Council.
In Kildare County Council's five-year plan for county roads from 1998-2002, approximately £150,000 was allocated to this particular area for 1999 out of a total of £1.899 million and £92,000 was allocated to the county road schemes. In fairness, this would not make any significant difference to the areas to which I refer. What is needed is for the Department, in agreement with the council, to put in place a financial package to alleviate the major problems currently being endured by the residents and users of these roads.
On one particular road there are at least 20 requests for planning applications with Kildare County Council. If we are to give these people and their children a chance to reside in a rural environment, it is imperative that an appropriate approach be made to remedy the problems of rural county roads. Rural development depends on such roads and in most of the areas mentioned small farmers, plant holders in the local bogs and residents find it hard to proceed with the simplest tasks.
There has been much discussion in recent times about the housing difficulties and the need for people to settle outside Dublin and the main satellite towns. However, it will be impossible to achieve a more even population density until we put in place proper infrastructures in the most under-populated areas of rural Ireland.
