Vol. 525 No. 2
678 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has received an application for funding from either Kilkenny Corporation or Kilkenny County Council for the construction of an inner relief road in Kilkenny serving the western environs of the city; if so, the stage the application is at in the process; if the application has been withdrawn; the source of funds for such projects; and the availability of funds in this regard. [24459/00]
Kilkenny County Council submitted seven applications to my Department for consideration under the Specific Improvement Grants Scheme in 2000, including an application for funding of £497,400 for the Kilkenny inner relief road-circular road. This application, with all other applications under the specific improvement grants scheme, was considered in my Department, having regard to the need to prioritise projects, competing demands from other local authorities and the funds available for the scheme in 2000. In the event, the Kilkenny inner relief road project was not among the six projects totalling £1,267,000 which were selected from the Kilkenny County Council submission for advancement in 2000 under this scheme.
It is open to Kilkenny County Council to seek funding for this project when submitting its applications for 2001 under the specific improvement grants scheme, which are due in my Department by 17 November 2000.
