asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give an up-to-date report on the proposed culverting of the stream at Streamville, The Donahies, Dublin 13; and when he proposes to instruct Dublin County Council and Dublin Corporation to carry out this urgent work.

I have sanctioned this proposal.

Has the money been made available for this proposal?

Yes, from the Local Loans Fund.

When is the work expected to start?

That is a matter for Dublin County Council.

Would the Minister instruct Dublin County Council to carry out that work immediately?

I expect the Deputy will make representations to Dublin County Council on this matter. We do not instruct local authorities to carry out work of this nature because it is a matter for themselves.

But the Minister instructs local authorities to set up housing information offices. Can the Minister say when this application for sanction was made to his Department and when it was granted? Also, when was an application made for a loan under the Local Loans Fund, and when was that sanction granted?

Approval was given to the work on 4 May and the council have been advised to submit their loan application.

I asked when the application for sanction of the work was made and granted. The Minister said sanction was given on 4 May 1981, but when was the application made? Is the Minister telling the House that approval for the raising of a loan from the Local Loans Fund has not been granted?

We do not have the application for the raising of the loan from Dublin County Council yet.

Did the Minister not inform Deputy Cosgrave less than two minutes ago that the money had been made available?

When we approve the work it means the money is available.

That is not so. Does the Minister not understand how the Department work? When was the original application for sanction made?

The Deputy is a member of Dublin County Council and should be aware of the position on this culvert.

I will not allow the Minister to misrepresent the position. When was the application made to the Department?

Would the Minister reply to Question No. 4?

The original application was made in 1979 but there was a long drawn out controversy, of which the Deputy must be aware, whether half or all the culvert should be covered in. It was finally decided that the entire drain would be culverted.

The application was made in 1979 and sanction was granted a fortnight ago, but the money has not yet been made available.

That is not our fault.

It is not the Minister's fault that there was a delay from 1979 to 1981——

Will Deputy Boland allow the Minister to reply to Question No. 4.