asked the Minister for Justice whether he is aware that much inconvenience is being caused in the Bantry and Castletownbere districts where road improvement works are being carried out by the restrictions on the use of explosives, and by the fact that the Gárda Síochána are not permitted to store explosives, thereby compelling employees of the County Council to use the quantity on hands each day, or destroy any quantity unused, and whether, taking into consideration the fact that the district is very remote, he will arrange that better facilities are afforded for the distribution and storage of necessary explosives.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - EXPLOSIVES FOR ROAD WORK.
The restrictions on the use of explosives in Castletownbere and Bantry districts are similar to those in force in other parts of the Saorstát. The difficulty in the present case is caused by the remoteness of the district in which the road repairs are being executed, and the fact that there are no premises nearer than eleven miles in which the explosives could be stored with safety. As a consequence, only sufficient blasting material for the day's work is brought to the scene of operations. There is no direction that any surplus must be destroyed, but owing to absence of storage accommodation, any such surplus must be brought back to Bantry. I will be prepared to give sympathetic consideration to any suggestions as to how the County Council may be facilitated in the matter.