asked the Minister for the Environment the up-to-date position regarding the proposed Castlerea/Ballintubber/Kilmurry regional water supply scheme with the source at Longford Springs, Castlerea and Tubbermackee, Ballintubber.

While the documentation for the scheme has been completed, the local authority will not be in a position to proceed further pending acquisition of the necessary land and water rights at the Longford Springs source. Objections have been made to the council's proposals in that regard and a public inquiry was held in Castlerea on 26th October, 1977. I await the result of this inquiry.

Is it the intention of the local authority to issue a compulsory acquisition order here?

The council were unable to secure by agreement the necessary lands adjacent to the source and additional objections were made to their proposal to abstract the water supply from the source. A public inquiry into the council's proposal to acquire the land and abstract the water was held at Castlerea on the 26th October, 1977.

15.