Vol. 491 No. 3
344 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if special allocations of finance have been made to any local authorities in relation to the hosting of the Tour de France; if so, if he will specify the authorities involved; if he will give a special allocation to Wexford County Council to upgrade Clonroche which is the only village in County Wexford that the race is passing through on 13 July 1998. [11852/98]
Special allocations of finance have not been made by my Department to any of the local authorities whose areas are involved in the Tour de France. It is not intended to give any specific or special funding under the urban and village renewal subprogramme of the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development in respect of the tour. An allocation of £119,000 has been made to Wexford County Council in 1998 for village renewal works to be undertaken under the subprogramme. It is a matter for the council to prioritise the villages to benefit from this allocation.
