asked the Minister for Finance if, prior to Christmas, he will allocate additional grants under thespecial employment and emergency schemes for the Borough and County of Sligo, in order to relieve the serious unemployment situation which exists in the areas mentioned.

The full proportionate allocation from the Employment and Emergency Schemes Vote in relation to the number of unemployment assistance recipients in the area has already been allocated to the County of Sligo, and further grants for this area would not be justified. The grants available from the Vote for expenditure this year on schemes for Sligo urban area exceed the normal annual allocation for this area and it is not at present proposed to make any additional allocation. The position in the urban area will be reviewed later in conjunction with other urban areas in connection with the proposed Supplementary Estimate for the Vote.