Councils warned over roads spending

The Minister for the Environment promised a record €477 million in funding for regional roads yesterday - and warned local authorities they would be penalised if they cut back on their own roads spending.

Speaking in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, Mr Cullen told local authority members and managers that he was aware some authorities had used increased non-national road funding to reduce their own levels of contributions.

Over the past three years the Government had provided more than €1.6 billion for repairs and upgrading of regional, county and local roads, he said. But the Minister said he was not prepared to see the effectiveness of the scheme being undermined. He warned that next year his Department would make its grant allocation taking into account the level of council spending this year.

Describing the approach as "carrot and stick", Mr Cullen said he was formally putting councils "on notice" of his intentions for next year.

The Minister said the local authorities would be expected to put €150 million of their own money into the non-national road fund bringing the total available up to €627 million.

Included in the 2004 allocation is:

€ 220 million for the road restoration programme

€ 82 million for specific non-national road projects which promote employment and economic activity

€ 56.33 million on strategic non-national road projects, which will assist housing, commercial and industrial development.

Discretionary maintenance and improvement grants of € 26 million and € 22 million respectively have been allocated to county councils. City, borough and town councils will benefit from a total of € 14.057 million in block grants as well as € 15.087 million in special block grants for carriageway and footpath repairs.

The strategic non-national road schemes to benefit in 2004 include the Naas Ring Road, the Enfield-Edenderry Road, Castle-troy Distributor Roads in Limerick, Trim-Dublin Improvement Scheme, South Dublin Outer Ring Road, Tramore Ring Road, Wicklow Town Relief and Port Access Road and the Outer Ring Road in Waterford.

The Minister also said urban road funding would increase this year by more than € 2.5 million, a 9.6 per cent increase.

However, the allocations were criticised by the Labour Party's Mr Eamon Gilmore who said only 12 per cent of the €477 million for non-national roads was being allocated to urban areas.

"This is despite the fact that the worst traffic problems, and the worst road surfaces are now to be found in urban areas and in urban housing estates."

Of the €477 million announ- ced, just €36 million is being allocated to city councils - and €10.6 million of that is being allocated to the Minister's own Waterford city - only €3.5 million is being allocated to borough councils and just €14.5 million for all town councils, Mr Gilmore added.