asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will give details of the number of hotels in the country which sought and obtained grants from Bord Fáilte in the past 12 months for the provision of staff accommodation.

I am informed by Bord Fáilte that in the 12 months ended 30th November, 1968, the board received 50 formal applications from hotels for grants for the provision of staff accommodation. In the same year 21 applications for such grants were approved by the board.

Would the Minister not agree that information about grants for hotel development approved by the board should be made available to Members of the House? That information should be disclosed the same as information about housing is available to Deputies who require it.

That is the information I have given in reply to the question.

Is the Minister prepared to tell the House what grants were made available to individual hotels?

That has not been the custom. It is a matter for Bord Fáilte.

Will the Minister not agree that it should be the custom? This is public money. Members of the House should be entitled to that information and should get more and more information about State sponsored bodies. Thousands of pounds of public money are spent and the House is denied information about it.

In the ordinary way information is not given about individual housing grants.

Certainly.

In the form of question.

If I asked the Minister for Local Government the names and addresses of people who received grants for housing they would be forthcoming.

Is there anything to hide?

I do not say the Deputy should get it.

It is public money, not the Minister's money.

Why pry into people's affairs? It is people's private business.

2.

asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will give details of the number of hotels in the country which sought and obtained grants from Bord Fáilte in the past 12 months for the provision of additional guest accommodation.

I am informed by Bord Fáilte that in the 12 months ended 30th November, 1968, the board received 150 formal applications from hotels for grants for the provision of additional guest accommodation. In the same year 56 applications for such grants were approved by the board.