asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the serious and urgent need for the investment of massive amounts of money, provisionally estimated at £150 million, in the immediate development of essential services in Letterkenny, County Donegal, which is acknowledged as one of the fastest growth areas in the State; if he will make sufficient funds available as a matter of extreme urgency because of the severe strain being put on the present services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers - Letterkenny (Donegal) Development.
15.
(Dublin South-East): I am not aware of any serious or urgent need for an investment of the order of £150 million on the immediate development of essential services in Letterkenny. I would draw the Deputy's attention to the fact that an investment of this order would represent some 7 per cent of the total Public Capital Programme for a town with a population of less than 0.2 per cent of the national population. I am, of course, fully aware of, and have made adequate provision for, the development needs of Donegal including Letterkenny.
I have already made an initial allocation of £152,700 to Letterkenny for sanitary services as against £48,000 in 1981 while the corresponding capital allocation to Donegal County Council is £1.781 million as against £1.371 million in 1981. The Letterkenny sewerage scheme, phase 1, commenced in July last and is due for completion by Donegal County Council this year. Letterkenny Urban District Council's sewerage improvement scheme is also due for completion at a cost of £82,000 this year. On 29 April I issued sanction to Donegal County Council to a loan of £90,000 for a drainage survey of the River Lennon.
National roads and main roads in the urban district are the responsibility of Donegal County Council to whom I have made allocations for road works totalling £4.9271 million as against £2.898 million and £4.475 million in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The first stage of the road programme for north Donegal as recommended by consultants is being implemented in full. In particular allocations made provide for work on the Letterkenny-Derry road and on the Stranorlar-Letterkenny route. In addition, strengthening works at various locations on the Lifford to Sligo and Donegal to Stranorlar via Letterkenny national primary routes, the provision of road signs on national primary routes and improvement of regional routes are being financed. Numerous improvement works are in progress or at planning stage for inter-urban roads.
I might add that on 26 April I allocated £272,000 to Donegal County Council for works of an environmental, recreational or amenity nature in the county, including the urbans.
One learns something every day. We have just discovered that the route from Lifford to Sligo is via Letterkenny. That would be somewhat irregular. The Minister's brief is very far wrong in that respect. The other point is that the loan of £90,000 is being raised by Donegal County Council and will be paid for by the ratepayers of County Donegal.
Has the Deputy a question?
My question arose out of discussions which took place at a meeting of Letterkenny Urban District Council at which the chairman, who happened to be one of the——
We cannot have an account of the proceedings of the urban council.
The Minister says he is not aware of any such amount of money but I am informing him of it now and asking what his intentions in this regard are.
When the Deputy is on the other side of the House he may give information but while he is on the Opposition side he asks the questions.
I am asking the Minister if he is aware of the substance of statements made at a meeting of Letterkenny Urban District Council by Senator McGlinchey who is a member of Fianna Fáil and who was nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach.
The Deputy may not go into the incidentals.
I am asking the Minister also if he is aware that the former chairman of the urban district council, Senator Larkin, agreed that the amount necessary was £150 million? Would the Minister have regard to the fact that Letterkenny is one of the fastest growing town in rural Ireland, that it is growing at a rate faster than that of any town in the Republic and it is the envy of many other places?
Much as we would like to hear about all this from the Deputy——
Until such time as the Chair refrains from interrupting me, I will not be able to get an answer from the Minister. It is not fair that the Chair should continue to interrupt me.
The Deputy continues to allow himself to be side-tracked on different roads but he has not yet come to a supplementary question.
With due respect, Sir, you are continuing to interrupt me.
The Deputy ought to have some respect for the Chair.
Deputy Harte is seeking to impart information.
Now we have the wisdom of Deputy Allen lecturing us.
Has the Deputy a supplementary question?
Would the Minister accept that as a result of a meeting of Letterkenny Urban District Council it has been deemed that there is a crisis situation and that £150 million is the amount necessary for the infrastructure of the town in terms of water, sewerage, housing, roads and so on?
(Dublin South-East): By way of reply to that I can only repeat the first sentence of my reply and that was that I am not aware of any serious or urgent need for an investment of the order of £150 million on the immediate development of essential services in Letterkenny. If the Deputy is not happy with that I can only assure him that I will look into the matter further.
I am greateful to the Minister for that and I wish to put on record that he is one Fianna Fáil Minister for whom I have a very high personal regard. I have no wish to harass the Minister but I would ask him to have his officials examine the local Donegal papers which carried this story. They will not have to look further than the front pages.
I must remind the Deputy again that this is Question Time.
I am sorry that the Minister cannot take the word of either Senator McGlinchey or of Senator Larkin and I can only ask what Deputy Blaney is doing about the whole situation. Has he not been able to make a deal in the way Deputy Gregory succeeded in so far as his area was concerned? What is the position of Deputy Blaney in this matter?
(Interruptions.)
The Deputy must resist from being disorderly.
I wonder if the regard which the Deputy has for the Minister is reciprocated so far as the Minister is concerned.
I am calling Question No. 16.
Is it not a strange situation that if I interrupt I am being disorderly whereas the Chair is not being disorderly when continuing to interrupt me?
I am trying to maintain order but I am not getting much help from the Deputy. I am asking him to please behave himself.
Deputies
Hear, hear.