Ruairí Quinn
Ceist:137 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment the names of local authorities who applied for grants for forest roads in the years 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991; and the amounts of grants allocated in each case.
Written Answers. - Forest Road Grants.
I presume the Deputy is referring to county roads which give access to forests.
The normal sources of State road grant assistance towards the cost of works on these roads are the discretionary grants allocated annually to county councils for the improvement and maintenance of regional and county roads. In 1990, these grants amount to £66.885 million.
Limited amounts of special grants to improve forest access roads have been provided in recent years. These grants are allocated on the basis of needs identified following consultation with Coillte Teoranta. While a number of local authorities have written to the Department about the condition of forest access roads in their areas, it is not the practice to seek applications from local authorties for special grants for such roads.
Special grants for forest access roads were not provided in 1988. Details of the grants allocated under this heading in 1989 and 1990 were set out in the reply to Question No. 102 of 6 June 1990. The road grants for 1991 have not yet been determined.