Vol. 529 No. 1
801 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the plans he has to provide additional funding to Roscommon and Longford County Councils to raise roads flooded by the River Shannon during winter 1999, in view of the fact that a number of flooded roads have not been allocated funding to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1285/01]
841 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will allocate funding to Roscommon County Council to upgrade the Athlone-Clonown Road which is flooded annually. [1979/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 801 and 841 together.
Roscommon County Council and Longford County Council were allocated non-national road grants totalling £8.662 million and £4.542 million, respectively, in 2000, an increase of 10% and 11% on the previous year's grants allocations and 50% and 44%, respectively, on the 1997 allocations. In principle, the very considerable funds available to local authorities for non-national roads maintenance and improvement are designed to cover contingencies arising from flooding, storm damage and other severe weather conditions. My Department's memorandum on grants for non-national roads provides that the cost of remedial works necessitated by such conditions must be met from these resources and that local authorities should set aside contingency sums to finance these works.
My Department is also prepared to consider sympathetically any request from local authorities to adjust their current multi-annual restoration programmes so as to prioritise works necessitated by flood damage to particular roads. I intend to announce non-national road grant allocations for 2001 very shortly.
