Would the Minister accept that there is taking place a serious deterioration in the condition of the surfaces of main and county roads throughout the country and that that is due to the inadequate amounts being allocated to local authorities by the Government for the repair, maintenance and improvement of those roads?

As the Deputy is aware, local authorities can operate from within their block grants with regard to their main roads. Maintenance of county roads has to be done——

Is the Minister aware of the deterioration taking place?

I can only speak about the travelling I have done, and I have done a bit in the course of the last year around the country——

I mean from the Department's brief.

From the departmental brief, there is not a great deterioration, the general roads standard is good. In isolated areas there is some deterioration. Some local authorities recognise this and operate a type of three tier system themselves, taking decisions as to how they should approach that problem; that, for example, busy county roads should receive preference and so on. Some local authorities have implemented this scheme. As the Deputy is aware, it is within their remit to do so because they are responsible for the maintenance of county roads.

Is the Minister aware that engineers in some counties have informed persons making representations regarding the serious deterioration in the condition of the roads that they have had to abandon some of the county roads in their counties because of the inadequate allocation of finance from central Government for their repair?

County roads constitute a matter for the engineers and the county councils themselves. They are responsible for their maintenance. The money we give them is not for that and never has been, so we have not withdrawn any funds from them. With regard to any improvements required on county roads, as the Deputy is aware the county councils can use their block grants. With regard to local authorities' own resources, they have means at their disposal now by which they can increase their own resources, or raise additional funds from their own resources if they so desire.

I am calling Question No. 7. We could go on county by county.

The Minister is living in cloud-cuckoo land if he does not know what are the problems involved.