asked the Minister for Local Government if he will arrange that in future county councils will be notified of the allocation of road grants prior to the date of their annual estimates meeting; and if he will also arrange that arterial road grants be treated as a separate item.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Road Grants.
25.
It is my aim that road authorities should be advised as early as possible of the Road Fund grants allocated to them in respect of any financial year, but, for practical reasons, I cannot give a firm assurance on the lines advocated by the Deputy.
I am not clear what is meant by the second part of the question. If the Deputy is suggesting that the amount of the allocation of other grants should be determined without reference to arterial road grant allocations, I am not prepared to accept such a suggestion.
When will the county council or local authorities be notified of this year's road grants?
I would hope, in some weeks.
Seeing that the estimates meetings are being held at the end of this month and early next month, would the Minister not agree to notify the local authorities of the grants?
It is not a question of agreeing; it is a question of notfying them as soon as I have the actual details prepared.
It is highly undesirable that councils have to consider estimates without being notified. The Cork County Council have expressed themselves strongly on this matter. We feel the local authorities should be notified of the road grants in time for the estimates to be discussed at the estimates meetings. Would the Minister not agree that it is unfair to take the arterial road grants from the grants allocated to the county council generally? In regard to what is meant in the second part of the question, the arterial road grants should be separate ones, outside the main county roads grants, and there should be separate allocations for them.
We did have separate allocations for them but it is impossible to separate them from the same fund from which all of this money comes, to disregard entirely what is allocated for county or main roads. We have to look at the entire allocation of grants from the entire Road Fund and we have to have regard to what goes under one heading and the other and to apportion these funds as they exist in regard to all classes of roads throughout the country.
Would the Minister not agree this affects places where there are not arterial roads? Such areas cannot avail of any of the arterial road grants, which are mainly confined to those taking the heavier volume of traffic.
That is true; you cannot have one everywhere. Likewise, the main roads as we know them over the years did not go everywhere either and the same argument could be used in regard to main road grants as is used for arterial roads in relation to county roads.
Would the Minister notify the local authority before 1st March?
I would not say before 1st March, but in time for the estimates meeting. It is not something that has to be dealt with before the estimates meetings. By and large, I think the councils are aware of what they will get for the coming year. Certainly they usually know the minimum they will get and can work on that.
We expect a substantial increase.
I would not like to disappoint you.