Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael)

As previous speakers have noted, everyone is welcome back and I look forward to this session.

The Leader should ask the Minister for Transport to clarify the stock of salt in the State for the winter season and how much of it has been distributed to the local authorities. Last year, although the National Roads Authority indicated there was a certain stock of salt in the State, it transpired that it was not in the country but had been ordered. As a consequence, the country nearly came to a standstill. If one is to believe it, another hard and cold winter has been forecast. As a consequence it will be important to have our preparations made for it. In this regard, it is also relevant to ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to clarify the attitudes of certain local authorities towards voluntary groups which provided assistance in certain areas last winter. Some local authorities allowed members of the IFA and community groups to help in gritting roads and so on, whereas others refused on the grounds that they might not have been covered by insurance and similar issues. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government should clarify whether local voluntary groups would be allowed to help local authorities were we to experience another hard winter.