asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware of the widespread annoyance among Dublin citizens at the prolonged delay in the development of parks and open spaces in the city; and that because of his refusal to sanction the borrowing of the money necessary to complete a ten years parks development programme costing £1,000,000 in January, 1964 the total cost has now risen to £1,108,000 and only five per cent of the programme has been carried out; and if he will now sanction the necessary borrowing to enable the open spaces and parks in the city to be developed to meet the citizens' needs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Parks and Open Spaces.
20.
I would refer the Deputy to my reply of 19th ultimo to his question on the subject, to which I have nothing to add at this stage.
Would the Minister appreciate that he alone is holding up the development of hundreds of acres of land in this city, that the citizens are extremely annoyed that the Minister is delaying the development of parks and playgrounds for children; that as a consequence of the Minister's delay only five per cent of a programme which was decided upon three years ago has been implemented; that, as a result, the cost of the programme is now 20 per cent higher, and that by the end of the ten-year programme set by the Corporation only 15 per cent of the work will be done, again only because of the Minister's delay?
There is no question of my holding it up. Over the past three years, expenditure on parks and open spaces has risen from £15,400 in 1965-66 to £20,570 in 1967-68 to date, and I understand a further £8,000 will be spent on such work within the next few months.
Does the Minister appreciate that the figures to which he has made reference are simply the figures for the maintenance of the Corporation parks? Does the Minister not recall that, in the answer to which he referred me in his original reply today, he admitted that only five per cent of the work determined three years ago to take place over a ten-year period has been done, and that five per cent has been done as against the 30 per cent which would have been done had the Minister granted to the Corporation the permission which they sought?
I do not know where the five per cent comes from.
It is from the Minister's reply to which he referred me already today.
No. it is not.
It is the Minister's own figure.