asked the Minister for Education when he expects to be in a position to announce a scheme of capital grants for secondary schools; if these grants will be retrospective; and, if so, to what date.

I hope to be in a position to do so in the very near future. The scheme will not have any retrospective effect.

Is the Minister aware that the Taoiseach in the speech he made on, I think, 13th February, raised the hopes of many secondary school authorities who are at present up to their necks in building debts that if this scheme was brought in, it would be retrospective? They believed they would be relieved of this burden. Many of them, outside teaching hours, have to organise raffles and bingo to help reduce these debts.

Individual schools have made inquiries and have been told that there would be no retrospective aspect to the scheme and that any work done before that could not be regarded as in order for a grant.

Could the Minister give us any more definite date than "shortly", because the Taoiseach said "shortly" on 14th February?

Before the next by-election.

It will be quite soon.

It will have the effect of holding up a lot of development.

It did have the effect of completing the picture for two by-elections.