asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware of the undue delay in the processing of applications in the school building section of the Office of Public Works because of inadequate staffing; and the action he intends to take to remedy the situation.

The Office of Public Works have an extensive school building programme in hands. As there is a large number of cases to be dealt with, the task must be tackled in an orderly way on the basis of a planned programme. It follows that there will be a considerable lead-in time between sanction of a project and the placing of a contract. In common with other sections of the Office of Public Works there are vacancies for professional and technical staff in the school building section. Steps have been taken by way of civil service competitions to fill these vacancies. I am reasonably satisfied with progress having regard to the financial and staff resources available.

I take it that the Minister is talking primarily about primary schools. Am I correct in taking from what the Minister said that there will now be long delays in the building of new primary schools?

No such thing. Recently through the Civil Service Commission we recruited architects and architectural staff. We got a good response and we hope to appoint some of them in the near future. We hope to have a full complement in the section shortly.

By admission so——

A question, Deputy, not a statement.

How many people have been employed over the last year in that office?

I cannot answer that question.

What is the present lead-in time between sanction and contract and how much worse is it now than it was a year or two ago?

The position has improved considerably.

Since when?

It has improved over the last 12 months.

We cannot debate it all day.

I will simplify my question. I want to know the current average lead-in time between sanction and contract. How long does it take to get the money?

About six months.

Will the Minister say how many schools are at present awaiting sanction in his Department.

That is a separate question.

It arises out of the question. It just goes to show how much the Minister knows about his Department.