asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the dangerous condition of many county roads in County Mayo because of the failure of the Government to honour the terms of the Local Government Financial Provisions Act, 1978; the action he proposes to take to provide the county council with the necessary funds to safeguard the enormous investment of ratepayers and taxpayers; and whether he will provide funds to enable the county council to carry out (a) the necessary repairs and (b) a reasonable programme for respraying on those roads.
Written Answers. - Mayo Roads.
42.
I am aware of the condition of roads generally including county roads in County Mayo. Primary responsibility for the planning and execution of works on county roads rests with the local authorities. The expenditure involved falls to be financed by the local authorities from their own resources which may be supplemented, in the case of improvement works, by the block grant for roads paid annually by my Department. The manner in which the block grant is spent, including the extent to which it is to be applied to improvement works on county roads, is largely a matter within the discretion of each local authority.
A block grant of £909,000 has been notified to Mayo County Council for 1986, which is an increase of 33 per cent compared with 1985. In addition, since 1981, the local authority has benefited from funds provided specifically for the improvement of county roads under the EC western package. Grant commitments to the local authority to date under the Package total £1.56 million.
In accordance with the practice established by successive Governments, road grants are not provided to finance the cost of maintaining county roads. Expenditure under this heading falls to be financed from the local authority's own resources. In this connection, may I remind the Deputy that the Government decided this year to abolish the levy on local authorities in respect of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The effect of this, combined with the increase in the rate support grants, notified to the local authority in December last, was to make an additional £1 million available to Mayo County Council to meet their commitments in 1986. Moreover, the 1986 rate support grant has just been increased further in the context of the budget. This will give an additional £171,000 to the local authority in the current year. I am confident that these additional funds will enable the authority to maintain its services at a satisfactory level in 1986.