Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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I particularly highlight the area of rural roads in north-west Kildare. Clearly, there has been tremendous pressure on many of these roads because they are being used by vehicles which are too large for them. Indeed, many gravel pits and the like have contributed to the damage. However, significant budgetary constraints are experienced by Kildare County Council as a direct result of the population growth. Although it may well have escaped notice, Kildare is the fourth most populous county, behind Dublin, Cork and Galway. It has overtaken Limerick. Kildare now has a large population, with all the related demands placed on it. Obviously, the stresses and strains are being seen in areas such as roads.

Kildare County Council carried out a dilapidation survey of roads in north-west Kildare which were west of the R402, the Enfield-Edenderry road. Subsections of the road were categorised as very poor, poor, fair, good or very good, and good was identified as a road with good visibility which was free of potholes for at least 1 km or which had no more than ten repaired potholes per 1 km. The council then carried out a costing exercise to calculate the cost of bringing the road up to a good standard. The cost per square metre was based on the historical knowledge, VAT etc. Kildare County Council concluded that bringing up to good condition the 230,000 sq m of road that need to be addressed would cost €2.83 million, but it has allocated €300,000 for this year which is significantly short of what is needed.

Over the winter some of the bus services for school children were not provided because the roads were inadequate. Some of the roads have crumbled at each side and are not even capable of taking cars in both directions simultaneously.

Kildare motorists paid €35 million in motor tax last year into the local government fund, for which it is ring-fenced, and the local authorities in Kildare received €27 million back. I, therefore, reckon that Kildare is the biggest net contributor to that fund.

Taking the local government fund and the commercial rates together, the two counties with the lowest spend per head of population were Meath and Kildare, respectively. While within those counties the widespread perception is that the money must be spent in Naas, Newbridge or elsewhere, it is the inadequacy of resources that is the problem. By not spending enough, there is a degree of wastage by repairing roads rather than doing a proper job.

Some years ago the former Minister, Pádraig Flynn, declared a war on potholes and I want the Minister, Deputy Roche, to declare a war on potholes in north-west Kildare. I have a copy of the photographs concerned to hand and if the Minister saw them, he would agree this is not acceptable in a country that is as well off as we are. With regard to transport, a state-of-the art highway was constructed not far from this part of County Kildare by a public private partnership which is not used by everyone because these people face difficulties in accessing it. They feel like the forgotten people. I would like to give the Minister a copy of the photographs and I invite him to meet these people because I am sure they would welcome him if he came to see first-hand the difficult circumstances they are experiencing, although he would be shocked by the condition of the roads. I hope he will not tell me how many millions have been allocated to County Kildare or how well-off the county is because that is a myth.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I hope not to disappoint the Deputy but I intend to outline the extraordinary resources currently available to Kildare County Council, not only from Exchequer funds but also due to the development contributions taken in by the council in recent years and the buoyancy of its rates. If any local authority should be facing difficulties in this area, it is not Kildare County Council.

I have significantly increased the allocation to non-national roads this year, with €947 million coming from the local government fund. General purpose grants from my Department have also been significantly increased to meet the gap between the cost to local authorities of providing a reasonable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. The amount I am providing this year represents an increase of 8% over the amount provided in 2006. In the case of Kildare County Council, I have provided €26.48 million in general purpose grants in 2007, or three times the amount received in 1997. This represents an increase of 10.8% on 2006. The Deputy will accept the allocation is ahead of the rate of inflation. If any small or medium business in County Kildare was able to guarantee an 11% increase in its bottom line revenues, it would be very happy.

The provision, maintenance and improvement of non-national roads is a matter for local authorities to fund from their own resources, supplemented by grants provided by my Department. In 2007, the grant allocation by my Department to Kildare County Council for improvement and maintenance works on non-national roads is €23.53 million, while the municipalities in the area received additional funding. This is three and a half times the funding provided in 1997 and seven and a half times the provision in 1994. Over the same period, Kildare County Council's own resources have fluctuated dramatically. One of the problems for the county may be an eccentric voting pattern by councillors with regard to funding. The figures available on my Department's website reveal some extraordinary variations. The council's resources were €4.1 million in 2001 and €1.6 million in 2002, and subsequently increased to €7.4 million and €7.6 million. I commend the council on its recent allocations, which have amounted to €10 million over the past two years. Like many other local authorities, the increased investment in non-national roads being made by Kildare County Council from its own resources is not keeping pace with the increases in those resources.

The Deputy has a lot of experience as a councillor, so she will be aware that rate income in County Kildare has doubled over a six-year period. Development contributions have increased even more spectacularly, from €6.4 million in 2000 to €27.4 million in 2005. I understand the estimate for development contribution income was over €37.3 million last year, or a 50% increase in one year alone. Any council receiving those sums has no excuse for potholes. That money is intended for a variety of purposes, including public lighting, roads and pavements, rather than being simply lodged in the bank. Development contributions are specifically designed to ensure developers play their part in upgrading local infrastructure. The Deputy is correct that there has been a significant increase in commercial and construction traffic in County Kildare, with punishing implications for roads. However, that traffic has also produced the 50% increase in development levies. I am not sure whether any other local authority achieved such an increase.

The raising of development contributions and the policy principles for expenditure are matters for local councillors but community gain should be a primary consideration. If the Deputy has concerns about how resources are being expended, she should raise them with her local councillors. I find it strange that the council has informed her it does not have the resources to carry out a comprehensive audit of roadworks for the county. I do not understand how a local authority representing a county which has experienced such a phenomenal increase in development levies could make such an excuse to a public representative.

The Exchequer is also providing significantly increased funding to local authorities towards infrastructure provision in other areas, such as national roads, housing and water services. In the past decade, the substantial level of resources provided to local authorities through central funding and the fruits of economic success resulted in a trebling of local authority expenditure. Every local authority in the country is experiencing increases in population, although these increases are higher in some areas than others. When I establish general purpose allocations, I consider non-national road grants, increased rates income and the resources now flowing into local authority coffers from development contributions.

This argument is too often made by local authorities. I believe there is insufficient ambition among elected council representatives to perform thorough audits of how funding is being spent. The Deputy may agree with me on that issue. It is the reason I have proposed establishing internal audit procedures in every local authority. Good quality external auditing experience would give elected members the ammunition to ensure more ambition, efficiency and delivery at local level. I am familiar with the potholes in County Kildare, some of which are herculean in size. However, lack of funds is not a reason for the lack of attention given to these potholes. Funding is being provided but it needs to be used properly.