asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if the Government have now considered the report on the site for an airport in Cork; and, if not, when they expect to do so.

asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the date on which the report regarding the site of the Cork airport was received in his Department.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions No. 10 and No. 11 together.

Question No. 11 relates to a matter of internal departmental administration and I cannot see that any useful purpose would be served by giving the Deputy the information for which he asks. As regards the other question, I am not in a position to add anything to my reply to a question addressed to me by the Deputy on the 18th November.

Surely it is a reasonable thing to ask when the report was received in his Department and how long they are keeping it in a pigeonhole before dealing with it.

The Government will deal with it as long as is necessary to make sure that they will arrive at a right decision.

Surely the Minister is trying to establish a precedent when he refuses to answer a question as to when the report was received. So far as I know, it was always the practice in this House to give the date on which a report is received.

It is entirely a ministerial matter.

It is not.

It is a report to me by one of my own officers.

If there were not a by-election in Cork would it not have been printed?

If the Deputy thinks that out he will find the argument is the other way round.