Vol. 473 No. 4
51 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for the Environment the reason for the delay in sanctioning funding under the EU co-financed scheme of grants for an application submitted by Galway Corporation in respect of work on the West Distributor Road, including the provision of a roundabout at the junction of Bishop O'Donnell Road and the proposed distributor road; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1537/97]
Galway Corporation submitted two proposals for consideration for funding in 1997 under the EU co-financed scheme of specific improvement grants on non-national roads which are of economic benefit and help generate employment: one for the construction of the Western Distributor Road involving expenditure of £1,003,246 this year and the other for the Docks-Lough Atalia Road involving 1997 expenditure of £312,830. Selection of projects under this scheme must be based on the strict EU eligibility criteria, the need to prioritise projects and the competing demands from different areas on the limited funds available.
The corporation was recently allocated non-national road grants of £526,000 for 1997, including a grant of £200,000 for the Docks-Lough Atalia Road project. It is open to the corporation to resubmit the application for the Western Distributor Road for consideration next year.
