asked the Minister for Health in relation to the seminar on natural family planning organised by his Department: (a) the number of places that were available on the seminar; and (b) how and when the available places were allocated.

The International Seminar on Natural Methods of Family Planning was held on 8 and 9 October under the aegis of my Department in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.

About 150 places were available.

In order to ensure that the information imparted at the seminar was made available as widely as possible, nominations of participants were sought from bodies representing the medical profession, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and those already engaged in family planning services and from the health boards. The available places were allocated at various dates up to the week preceding the seminar as nominations from these bodies were received.

Is it not a fact that the Minister's Department failed totally to invite nominations from the Irish Family Planning Association until their attention was drawn to their omission by a newspaper report about the omission?

No, that is not so. The Irish Family Planning Association were on the original list of bodies to be invited to the seminar. There may have been some confusion about the issue of the invitation. It was always intended that they should be invited and they were in fact invited. They were allocated six places. They asked for seven and they got the seven.

Has the Minister any information as to whether the written invitation which according to newspaper reports was sent out by his Department but was mislaid in the post ever actually arrived at the offices of the IFPA?

I have no information on that but I know that they were telephoned on Monday, 1 October, which was a week before the seminar was actually held, and invited. I think that was a second invitation to them. I can assure the Deputy there was no intention to exclude them if that is what he is seeking to establish. There was no intention at any time to exclude them. They were included in the original list of bodies to be invited.

So the Minister believes that the failure of the postal service was responsible for the fact that the invitation did not reach them?

I have given the Deputy all the information I have about it. As I have said, they were finally invited by telephone a week beforehand and a lot of other people were invited at the same time.

May I enquire the total amount of money spent on that seminar and if the Minister would consider organising a similar seminar on other methods of family planning?

This is only the start of a general process of constructing a family planning service.

Would the Minister consider organising a similar seminar on other methods of family planning?

If that is considered necessary, yes. We are setting out now to construct a comprehensive family planning service.

Based on both methods?

Yes.

That will be news to the Irish people. It is rather ironic that simultaneously the Minister is closing down family planning clinics and issuing details——

The Deputy should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers.

Would the Minister confirm that he is not going to close down the family planning clinics?

There are questions on the Order Paper about that.

Would the Minister clarify what he has just said? Is the Minister going to close down the family planning clinics?

I have already indicated on a number of occasions in the debate on the family planning legislation what is the position about the establishment of family planning clinics. I have nothing to add to what I have said on a number of occasions in that respect.

May we take it then that family planning clinics will not be closed down?

Question No. 20.