asked the Minister for the Environment the total cost to date of the Stardust Inquiry; and the estimated overall cost.

I am not in a position to provide the information required since not all of the costs involved fall to be met by my Department. The main items of cost for which my Department are responsible are the provision of facilities for the tribunal such as accommodation, daily transcript of proceedings, equipment, stationery, etc.; consultancy and technical services; assessors' fees and expenses, and witnesses' expenses. Up to and including 16 October 1981 payments totalling £310,000 approximately have been made by my Department in respect of facilities and services provided, and it is estimated that expenditure amounting to a further £175,000 approximately for which accounts had either not been received or not yet been processed, had been incurred.

It is difficult to forecast what the final cost of the inquiry which falls to be met by the Department will be, since one of the main factors influencing costs is the length of time the tribunal will require to deal with all the relevant evidence. In the circumstances, I do not consider it appropriates to speculate about such a figure at this stage.

Has the Minister to hand information as to the cost to date of barristers' and lawyers' fees in connection with the tribunal?

As indicated in my reply not all of the costs involved in this tribunal fall to be met by my Department. I have not this information, but it could be made available if the Deputy wishes.