Vol. 499 No. 2
124 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has received any communication from any quarter, statutory or otherwise, requesting funds for the realignment and improvement at Bond bridge, Maynooth, County Kildare, with particular reference to safety enhancement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2394/99]
The only recent communication to my Department requesting funding for the realignment and improvement of Bond Bridge, Maynooth consists in a small number of letters from local residents.
125 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has received any communication requesting realignment and improvement at Cope bridge, Confey, Leixlip, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2395/99]
My Department has not received any recent communication regarding the realignment or improvement of Cope Bridge.
The maintenance/improvement of non-national roads, including bridges, in their area is a matter for Kildare County Council, to be funded from their own resources, supplemented by central Government allocations. Kildare County Council was paid a total of £6,940,012 in non-national roads grants by my Department in 1998, an increase of 37 per cent on the corresponding figure for 1997 of £5,061,600. I intend to announce the 1999 non-national roads grant allocations next week.
126 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the extent, if any, to which he expects investments from the private sector to assist in the provision of extensions to the road network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2396/99]
I expect that the private sector will continue, as at present, to contribute towards the cost of extending the road network to service new development through development levies and similar contributions.
In relation to the broader issue of public private partnerships (PPP), I have already made clear my strong support for this approach as a means of promoting major road improvement projects. I understand that the NRA is in the process of identifying projects to be undertaken on a PPP basis. Already, greater private sector participation is being pursued through the use of a design and build approach on a number of major road projects.
