asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state in respect of contract number 10 for the North County Dublin regional water supply scheme to serve Rathbeale Road, Swords, Rolestown, Oldtown and Ballyboughal (a) the date on which the draft contract documents were received in his Department, (b) the date of sanction, (c) the specifications and (d) the districts and roads proposed to be served.

Contract drawings and specification for contract No. 10 of the North County Dublin regional water supply scheme were received in my Department in April, 1966. This contract consists of the distribution system, reservoirs and pumping stations to serve the western section of County Dublin, north of Finglas, including the districts of St. Margarets, Kilsallaghan, Rolestown, Palmerstown, Ballyboughal, Oldtown, Cottrelstown and Garristown.

The pipes will be laid along the lines of the roads running from Six Mile House to Garristown in two lines, one running via St. Margarets, Kilsallaghan and Oldtown and the other via Palmerstown and Adamstown.

The pipes will be cement asbestos or PVC in sizes ranging from eight inches down to three inches.

The areas to be served by the contract will get their water supply mainly from the pipes being laid under contract No. 5 which was sanctioned by me on 31/5/1967 but was not started until the end of December 1967. Contract No. 10 is one of a number of schemes which I have approved recently and formal clearance of the documentation will be issued to Dublin County Council very shortly with a recommendation that the work be synchronised with contract No. 5 on which it is dependent.

Will the Minister tell me why it is that it took over two years from the date of the receipt of the contract in his Department to get this reply indicating, even yet, a long-delayed operation in this legendary North County Dublin regional water supply scheme?

There was no point in laying this part of the scheme until the water was available in the pipes being laid under contract No. 5. I am sure Deputy Dunne could be very good on the subject of a £165,000 scheme with no water in the pipes.

Is it outside the imagination of the Minister and his Department to lay the pipes for this scheme in anticipation of the arrival of the water on a certain date or does that put too great a tax on the ingenuity of his engineering staff?

No. As I said, I do not think there would be much point in spending £165,000 on a water scheme for which there was no water available; but the decision is to synchronise contract No. 10 to conclude at the same time as contract No. 5 so that the water will be available at the same time as the distribution system.

One final supplementary: does the Minister tell us that we will never see the North County Dublin regional water supply scheme, which has been talked about for 30 years, a fact?

The people in North County Dublin—I do not know whether Deputy Dunne has visited them lately or not—see this scheme being done. They see this contract No. 5, which is costing £500,000, in progress. There is no point in Deputy Dunne getting up and talking about "a legendary scheme" when the people see it being actually physically carried out.

Does the Minister not think that £165,000 would be cheap enough to provide a channel for Deputy Dunne's hot air?

As an insult, I am afraid that is not up to your usual standard at all. It is not up to your former greatness. As far as North County Dublin is concerned, I see much more of it than the Minister for Local Government, and he knows it.

You are trying to get away from it.

I know Clondalkin where the Minister would not attend a meeting.

8.

asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state the water and sewerage grant allocation for Meath County Council for the year ending 31st March, 1969.

Local authorities have not, as yet, been notified of their capital allocations for sanitary and miscellaneous services for the year ending 31st March, 1969.

Could the Minister hazard a guess as to when he will be able to get these figures out to the local authority?

I could not say for certain. It should not be very long: shortly.

Surely the Minister knows the position is that the work cannot be started until he notifies the local authority? Would he make an effort to get the figures out before the year is gone completely?

We will get them out before the year is gone.

We will have them before the referendum.

Well before that.

As far as the referendum is concerned, it will make no difference. They will get the hammer anyway.