asked the Minister for Local Government if he proposes to sanction without delay the contract documents submitted to his Department by Mallow Urban District Council, County Cork, in respect of the town's new sewerage scheme and so obviate to a considerable extent, further inflationary burdens on Mallow urban ratepayers in respect of this scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Water and Sewerage Schemes.
121.
I am not yet in a position to sanction this scheme, the contract documents for which are under consideration in my Department.
Could the Minister state when it is likely he will be issuing sanction for this scheme and if there is any particular reason or significance for the delay in sanctioning same?
I am not in a position to indicate when sanction will be granted. There is no particular significance to be read into the delay of sanction.
Could the Minister state when the application for sanction was made?
I am not able to say, for the technical reason that I am not clear what constitutes a formal application for sanction. But a preliminary report was submitted on the 12th of January, 1972, further technical data required on the 5th July, 1972, and that further technical data was submitted on the 8th June, 1973.
So I take it that this scheme has been awaiting sanction since mid-1973?
Sorry. These were submitted for approval on the 28th February, 1974.
Therefore, it is waiting over a year. Is the Minister aware of the huge and repidly rising costs of this type of work? Would the Minister regard as a matter of urgency the sanctioning of this sewerage scheme immediately to save the people of the town from incurring further costs?
The points the Deputy makes both in regard to need and to escalating costs are valid and I will see that they are brought to the attention of the Department.
Is the Minister aware that in times of flooding the sewerage of the town overflows into the streets?
In this connection, I understand there is a Foras Forbartha report also which gives substance to the matter.
122.
asked the Minister for Local Government if an additional grant will be given to the members of the Ardcath group water scheme, County Meath or whether the local authority will pay the full cost of the additional pipes in view of the fact that his Department asked the group to fill in forms for a water grant from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in July 1974 and this grant was then no longer in force.
The Deputy misunderstands the position. In September, 1973, Meath County Council had agreed to make a contribution of £2,507 towards the cost of providing a section of 6 inch main requested by them. Subsequently, I directed that the question of the county council being asked to increase this contribution be considered, because the scheme was turning out to be much more costly than originally estimated. It was not possible to put a firm proposal to the county council until the results of a detailed examination of costings became available. This did not become available until recently and as a consequence the county council were asked on 9th April if they would be prepared to increase their special contribution to £5,372 to meet the full cost of the 6-inch section. They were informed that the additional amount would qualify for loan and subsidy at the usual rate.
The group were advised, while the examination of costs was proceeding, to see if assistance would be available from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries towards the cost of the scheme. As the increased county council contribution would now bring the unit cost of the scheme below the limit applicable to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries scheme, resort to that scheme would not be appropriate. Such assistance in any event would be relatively small in relation to that which the county council can give.
I am thankful to the Minister for his reply but he did not really answer the question. Officials of his Department went to the farmers and got them to fill up forms. The forms were held in the Department for a couple of months but when a query was made to the Department the forms were sent to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the next day they were returned to the farmers who were told they were out of date. Has the Minister anything on that matter in his brief?
The opinion that emerged was that the scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries would not be appropriate. However, I have not the details and I can neither confirm nor deny that what the Deputy has suggested did, in fact, occur.
123.
asked the Minister for Local Government the amount of money that has been received to date from FEOGA grants for group water schemes in north Cork.
No FEOGA grants have been received to date in respect of any group water scheme. Decisions on the applications made to date are, however, expected within the next few months.
Can the Minister state if there is some significance in the delay in this matter?
I do not think so. It is just a rather complex system that does not work very quickly. As I stated in the reply, decisions on the applications made are expected within the next few months.
Would the Minister indicate the number of applications for group water schemes submitted this year for advances from FEOGA funds?
This question refers to north Cork.
I think I can provide the Deputy with the approximate number. There are six pages with about 15 to the page so the number would be between 90 and 100. That is merely an approximate figure but the exact figure can be provided.
Will the Minister state how long the applications have been outstanding with regard to north Cork?
That is a separate question. Question No. 123 refers to the amount of money received.
I have not that information. I am sorry I cannot help the Deputy.