James Carroll (Fianna Fail)

I call on the Leader to contact the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Transport to deliver a common statement to all county councils on how best to assist our rural communities during these extremely bad weather conditions. Louth and Meath, among other parts of the country, have been worst hit by the recent bad weather. We need a uniform policy among councils in this respect. I do not understand how one county council can refuse to allow local people, including farmers, to collect salt and grit from a local council depot and treat the roads in the rural areas and bad junctions which a council refused to treat. I am aware that last January Donegal County Council assisted communities in such circumstances. Kerry County Council is currently doing so, yet Louth County Council and Meath County Council are refusing to do so. It does not make sense that one council dictates one policy because of the views of a group of engineers or a county manager, while another council dictates a totally different policy. People in rural Ireland cannot get to school, work or make hospital appointments. I call on the Leader to contact the Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Transport to instruct county managers and county engineers to deliver a uniform policy that allows salt and grit to be accessible and available to local communities.