Vol. 507 No. 1
51 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when corrective measures will be carried out to remedy flooding caused to lands at Ballinful, County Sligo, due to problems with the sluice gates in the area. [16211/99]
My Department does not have responsi bility for the maintenance or upkeep of sluice gates. However, in the acquisition of certain lands the former Land Commission retained a portion of the purchase money for particular purposes, mainly maintenance of embankments and sluices. These funds were assigned to the public trustee who is now an officer of my Department. The public trustee invests these funds and the income is used for the purpose set out in individual trust deeds.
In the Ballinful area of County Sligo a small trust fund was set up in 1910 on the Sir J. Gore Booth Estate, to assist the tenant occupiers in the townlands of Cloonagh and Ardtrasna to maintain an embankment and sluice gate on a culvert or drain which runs between the townlands. Local trustees were appointed who could apply to the public trustee to release funds to cover maintenance work.
If the problem referred to by the Deputy involves the culvert to which the trust fund relates the trustees should contact the public trustee at my Department's Cavan office.
