Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will allocate specific funding to Roscommon County Council to address the flooding vulnerability of the Athlone to Clonown Road; if he will ensure the erection of crash barriers on the road in question due to the serious safety hazard when flood waters are high; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8685/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The provision and improvement of non-national roads in County Roscommon is a matter for Roscommon County Council to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State grants.

In August 2005, my Department sought applications from road authorities for funding under the 2006 EU co-financed specific improvements grant scheme. The initial selection of projects to be submitted for consideration for funding under this scheme is a matter for road authorities. Roscommon County Council submitted a number of applications but these did not include an application for funding for the Athlone to Clonown Road.

On 25 January 2006, Roscommon County Council wrote to my Department seeking a special allocation of €100,000 for a study on the ground conditions, methods of construction and cost of carrying out improvement works on the Athlone to Clonown Road. The council was informed that the 2006 grants were fully allocated; that there were no funds available to fund these works; but that it was open to the council to use a combination of its own resources and discretionary improvement grant allocation for this purpose. The 2006 discretionary improvement grant allocation to Roscommon County Council is €1,014,000, an increase of 7% on the initial 2005 allocation. The selection of works to be funded from this allocation is entirely a matter for the council.

The council was also informed that, as an alternative, it could submit a formal application under the 2006 EU co-financed specific improvements grant scheme for consideration. While moneys have been fully allocated for 2006, if a suitable application were submitted, my Department would be prepared to consider giving approval to the council to proceed with the study on the condition that the scheme would be submitted as a priority on the council's 2007 EU co-financed specific improvements grant list of applications. This would allow the council to recoup approved expenditure of up to €100,000 in 2007.