asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason for the delay in sanctioning the issue of free fuel vouchers.

I am not aware of any undue delay in sanctioning the issue of free fuel vouchers. The circular informing the local authorities that the scheme was to be brought into operation from 1st October, 1976, to 22nd April, 1977—30 weeks—on the same basis and for the same period as last year was issued on 22nd September, 1976.

(Dublin Central): Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the fuel vouchers were not issued until the end of October this year and that the Eastern Health Board have not issued any fuel vouchers this year?

As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the scheme is operated by a number of local authorities and the issue of fuel vouchers would not necessarily be uniform. There has been no change in the scheme. The scheme has been operating since the early forties and it is precisely for the same period as operated in any other year.

(Dublin Central): Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the Eastern Health Board have been advising people that they did not receive instructions from the Department? Is the Parliamentary Secretary further aware that the Department were slow in issuing vouchers this year because they were not printed?

There is no doubt that the Eastern Health Board had been notified long before the 15th October regarding the sanction of this scheme.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that, while the free fuel vouchers were delayed on account of a printing problem, the people entitled to them received the full amount a week later?

I agree with the Deputy.

(Dublin Central): The Parliamentary Secretary knows that fuel vouchers were not available to the Eastern Health Board during the first fortnight in October.

I am calling the next question, Deputy. The Deputy is making a speech.

I do not know whether the Deputy is more interested in trying to make political propaganda than in establishing the facts. The Eastern Health Board were informed on the 22nd September regarding the operation of the scheme.

(Dublin Central): Were the vouchers issued?

The vouchers and the issuing of the vouchers is a matter for the local authority.

(Dublin Central): I have been informed by the Eastern Health Board——

The Deputy may not make an assertion or a speech.

The Department are not accepting responsibility for issuing the free fuel vouchers. Why did the Department not keep in touch with the local authority in relation to the issue of the fuel vouchers? Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that people were deprived of their fuel vouchers over a period of weeks?

The Deputy is deliberately trying to confuse the issue. The situation is that the local authority have full responsibility for the issuing of fuel vouchers but now the Deputy wants to know why we did not interfere with that authority. The Deputy would be one of the first to be asking a question if we were interfering with the local authorities in respect of a scheme for which they have responsibility.

I would have thought that the social conscience of the Parliamentary Secretary would have motivated him to ask the local authority to do something about this.

The remaining questions will appear on the Order Paper for the next sitting day of An Dáil.