asked the Minister for Transport and Power the estimated time in which it is anticipated that the turf-peat resources of the country will have been used; and if any research is being carried out to find an alternative source of fuel.

Bog areas being worked by Bord na Móna under its current production programmes will be largely exhausted by the end of this century and new areas being acquired under the third development programme will extend into the first three decades of the next century. There will still remain very extensive areas of bogland throughout the country, which, under present technology, are regarded as unsuitable for commercial production of peat.

As a member of the European Communities and as a participant in the work of the International Energy Agency, this country has access to research and development proposals formulated by those bodies for the production of energy from alternative sources. Various Irish bodies such as the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, the universities and the National Science Council are interested in such research and are directly involved in specific research and development projects.

The exploration for hydrocarbons in our Continental Shelf area is, of course, the most promising activity for discovery of alternative energy sources.

Could I ask the Minister if supply will last at the present rate of development or is it proposed to increase or decrease that rate? How long will it last?

As I said in reply to the question, what was being developed up to now will last until the end of this century. Since the energy crisis in 1973 Bord na Móna formulated a third development programme and the bogs being brought into production under that programme will last into the third decade of the next century.