Vol. 399 No. 5
11 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the damage caused to our tourist industry because of non-repair and lack of maintenance of roads in our tourist areas; and if he has any proposals to remedy this situation.
22 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some continental bus crews have indicated they may refuse to travel on tourist routes in Cork and Kerry because of road conditions; and, in view of the implications for tourism of any such action, if he will outline the action he proposes to take on the matter.
I am taking Questions Nos. 11 and 22 together.
I presume the questions arise from the content of a recent radio programme in which the Chairman of Cork/Kerry Tourism outlined certain views which had been expressed to him by continental bus drivers about the condition of Irish roads.
I understand that, when approached by Cork County Council, the chairman did not have information about specific problems which would have enabled the local authority to consider taking remedial action. If the Deputies have such information they should bring it to the notice of the relevant local authorities for attention.
For my part, I have provided some £27.5 million in grants to Cork and Kerry County Councils this year for the improvement and maintenance of public roads for which they are responsible. The grants include discretionary grants totalling £11.55 million to supplement expenditure from the local authorities' own resources on regional and county roads. The grant allocations for work on national routes take due account of the needs of such routes in tourist areas and, no doubt, local authorities take account of the needs of regional and county roads in tourist areas when determining their priorities for the expenditure of discretionary road grants and their own resources.
Does the Minister not accept the views of the Chairman of Cork/Kerry tourism who happens to be a Fianna Fáil councillor?
Yes. I am aware that the councillor is a member of Fianna Fáil and also of Clonakilty UDC. While I did not hear his contribution on the "Morning Ireland" programme he was subsequently contacted by the county concil. Specific roads or locations were not mentioned, he was unable to provide that information. The important thing is that the discretionary grants allocated to Cork and Kerry County Councils have risen quite substantially. I note a figure here which might be of interest to the Deputy. In 1986 it was roughly £4 million for Cork and for Kerry £1.8 million. In 1990 the figure for Cork is £8.3 million and for Kerry £3.1 million. That is a lot of extra money.
Is the Minister suggesting that he is not aware of the actual conditions of the road network in Cork and Kerry? Is he aware that Cork and Kerry contain probably up to 25 per cent of the road network of this State and that the tourist roads — not the primary roads — by the sea are in a desperate condition? Is the Minister trying to say he is not aware of that? If he is not aware of it, has he any excuse? If he is aware of it what is he going to do to ensure that these roads are maintained and improved to a proper condition?
The Deputy need not seek to put words into the Minister's mouth. Out of the total allocation of moneys available to me I have allocated £27,504,000 to Cork and Kerry for roadworks this year, a very substantial increase on what they were receiving until a few years ago. I have also increased dramatically the amount of discretionary money. I am not saying that every single turn has been straightened or that every single road is to the standard I would like. What I am saying is, as part of my overall programme for the funding of these roads, they have got a very decent allocation and will, I hope, be getting further substantial funds when these become available to the Minister.
A final Question, Deputy O'Keeffe. I have to make a little more progress on Questions today.
Would the Minister accept that tourism has enormous potential and is of particular importance to the south west?
Yes.
From that point of view would the Minister accept that it is absolutely important that the road network be of a high standard? Is the Minister saying he is not aware that many of the roads are in a deplorable condition?
I accept that tourism is an important industry for this country. It is just as important to County Dublin as it is to County Kerry or County Mayo. There is a very considerable mileage of county and regional roads in this country, about 74,000 kilometres. It takes a very large sum of money to maintain and keep those in good condition. I am not saying that every road in Ireland is up to the standard I would like. I have stated that it is a deficiency in our infrastructure that I am seeking to correct. That is why I am adding bigger percentages of the money available to the Department to remedy the situation.
The Minister should know some of the potholes are so big that tourists are in danger of getting lost in them.
Would the Minister agree that the priorities in the Department have been all wrong and that the priority should have been to repair existing roads and not widen roads?
The Deputy is extending the scope of this question which is confined to the Cork-Kerry tourism area.
My question can refer to the Cork-Kerry tourism area.
Deputy Garland will appreciate that it depends on which local authority and which county councillor or Deputy one is talking to at a particular time.
