Vol. 518 No. 5
162 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when a special allocation of funding will be made in relation to the application submitted by Longford County Council for road restoration at locations which were damaged during recent flooding. [12262/00]
Longford County Council has been allocated non-national road grants totalling £4.242 million this year, an increase of 7% on 1999.
It is intended that these grants, together with the local authorities' own resources, should provide for the ongoing and special needs of local authorities, including requirements arising from exceptional weather conditions. My Department's "Memorandum on Grants for Non-National Roads" provides that the cost of remedial works necessitated by such conditions must be met from the above resources and that local authorities should set aside a contingency sum to finance these works.
My Department will be prepared to consider any request from Longford County Council to adjust its current multi-annual restoration programme so as to prioritise works necessitated by flood damage to particular roads.
