andMr. Keaveney asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware of the urgent need for a new sewerage scheme in Dunfanaghy/Port-na-blagh, County Donegal; and if he will indicate when this scheme is likely to commence.

The council's proposals for the acceptance of a tender for this scheme were submitted to my Department last year but, in view of the low priority which the council have accorded to the scheme, I cannot at this stage indicate when approval can be given or when the scheme is likely to commence.

Will the Minister take a look at this and ascertain whether the low priority rating is a justifiable situation in a tourist resort area such as this? The situation has to be experienced to be believed. It is a scandalous situation and I should like the Minister to have a personal look at it by way of inspecting his inspectors' reports.

The position is that either there is a priority list or there is not. It is No. 10 on the list in Donegal. The Donegal County Council would be the first to complain if we jumped that scheme over those that are higher on the list and they would be perfectly entitled to do so. I agree with the Deputy that this appears to be a scheme which merits quite high priority but I cannot change the regulations which are made at local level in this case. Perhaps the discussion we have had now may have some effect.

I am glad the Minister recognises that this is a very bad case. While having regard to the priority list drawn up by the county council, is the Minister aware that if more money were provided we could get this scheme much faster? I do not want to interfere with the democratic process the Minister mentioned.

The Deputy seems to forget that the party of which he was once a Minister spent slightly more than £8 million on water and sewerage facilities just before they left office. Last year I spent £25 million on these services and this year I will spend more than that. That is a little extra input.

The Minister takes much pleasure in quoting all these large sums of money but he has not mentioned that inflation has devalued much of it. Will he please understand that this does not remedy the drastic situation that exists in this tourist area and it does not bring water to other areas? He does not seem to have regard to the fact that the schemes he spoke about were put on a ten-year basis some 16 years ago but we are still not half-way through them.

It is more shame on my predecessors if schemes prepared 16 years ago are not completed yet. Obviously they were not doing their job.