asked the Minister for Finance if he will give immediate sanction for the building of houses for personnel employed by the Department of Agriculture at Mellows Agricultural College, Athenry, County Galway.

Initial proposals for the erection of new houses at Mellows Agricultural College were considered to be too costly. The Commissioners of Public Works in consultation with the Department of Agriculture are at present considering the possibility of providing suitable accommodation at a lower cost. The matter will be expedited as much as possible.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary not think it would be more appropriate to divert some money towards satisfying the housing needs of workers in Athenry, even if this meant a temporary cutback on expenditure on the erection or extension of farm buildings? To my mind, the housing needs of the workers should get first priority.

I can assure the Deputy that we are in consultation at the moment with the Department of Agriculture and we hope to come to a conclusion in the near future in regard to bringing the cost down to an acceptable level.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary realise that some of these workers have large families and that the accommodation is completely unsatisfactory?

I accept that the housing conditions are bad.