Pádraic McCormack
Ceist:31 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for the Environment when he proposes to visit Connemara to inspect the condition of the county roads as promised to a deputation from the area.
Written Answers. - Connemara Road Conditions.
Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:39 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment when he will implement the commitment given to Cumhacht to visit and inspect the deterioration in the condition of roads in Connemara; if he has made such a visit; and the action he proposes to take as a result of his investigation.
I am taking Questions Nos. 31 and 39 together.
During a visit to Galway last week, I noted the condition of a number of regional and county roads in the Connemara area. In addition, my Department is aware of the condition of these roads generally from the results of assessments and surveys carried out by local authorities and from the ongoing work of the roads inspectorate of the Department.
Responsibility for undertaking any works on the network of non-national roads, including the provision of the necessary finance, is primarily a matter for local authorities. County councils may use the discretionary grants for non-national roads paid by my Department to supplement expenditure from their own resources on regional and county roads. The discretionary block grants, apart from those for Dublin County Council, have been allocated strictly in proportion to the mileage of regional and county roads in each county.
The 1990 State road grants to Galway County Council amount to £9,481,000, an increase of 23 per cent on 1989. The provision comprises £4,056,000 for national roads and £5,425,000 for regional and county roads. It includes discretionary block grants amounting to £4,097,000, a supplementary discretionary grant of £500,000 for improvements to regional and county roads in recognition of the special needs of the county, and discretionary grants totalling £464,000 in respect of flood/storm damage. Altogether, the 1990 discretionary grants represent an increase of 53 per cent on the level of equivalent grants to the authority for 1989. I am satisfied that Galway County Council has received its fair share of the funds available to me for road grants in 1990. The selection of works to be done in particular areas is a matter for the local authority.
The 1990 Exchequer provisions for road grants have been fully allocated and there are no funds at my disposal from which additional allocations could be made at this time. I will, of course, bear the needs of County Galway in mind when determining the road grant allocations for future years.