asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware that in the case of the 1980 road grant for Dublin County Council the block grant of £664,000 has been fully expended, that the requirement of Dublin County Council for the block grant as set out in the 1980 road works scheme was £1.7 million and that this shortfall has resulted in a list of omissions from the maintenance and traffic budgets of the county council which represent a serious setback to the council's overall programme to maintain and improve the main and county roads system; if he is further aware that it has been extremely difficult for the county council to maintain employment in the roads maintenance section, that the roads' engineers have indicated that they have great difficulty in keeping employees gainfully employed due to the current lack of finance for materials and machinery; and if he will indicate if any further monies are being made available to this council in the immediate future.

The block grant notified to Dublin County Council for 1980 is only one element in the total road grant of £6.292 million allocated to the council this year. The total represents an increase of 21.9 per cent over 1979 and more than 200 per cent over 1976.

I am aware of the needs of the roads in County Dublin and I intend to ensure that the maximum assistance will continue to be made available towards their maintenance and improvement within the resources available to me. Returns of employment on road works show that employment by the council at end September 1980 was 762, compared with 711 at end September 1979.

The grant allocations already notified to road authorities for 1980 absorb the total of the moneys available to me for road works in the current year.

Question No. 18 postponed.