asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware that Blackrock, County Dublin, is in urgent need of a by-pass road and that there may be a delay of years before it is completed; the reason for the abandonment of the original date for completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Outline proposals prepared by Dún Laoghaire Borough Corporation for Stage II of the Blackrock By-Pass, from Temple Hill to Frascati Road, have been approved.

The timing and execution of work on the scheme is primarily a matter for Dún Laoghaire Corporation and will depend on the rate of progress by the corporation with detailed planning, property acquisitions and the availability of financial resources.

I am not aware that any projected date for completion of the scheme has been abandoned.

Is the Minister aware that the township of Blackrock is being choked to death by the huge inflow of traffic and that stage two of the by-pass is a matter of urgency? I note the use of the word "financial" by the Minister. Is it a fact that the money has run out and that the by-pass will not be completed until 1984-1985?

The money has not run out. The allocation given in this year's budget in January for roads is totally inadequate, as it was for housing, to meet the many demands made on local authorities.

If the Minister wants to play politics that is a matter for him. Why has a decision in relation to stage two of the by-pass been put into cold storage? The Minister's Department have advised him wrongly. There was a decision from the Minister's predecessor that this matter would be completed and it now appears that the Coalition are putting it into cold storage. I and the traders in Blackrock want to know why.

I think I heard Deputy Haughey say a few minutes ago that the advice from the Civil Service was totally adequate in every respect and now the Deputy is saying I got wrong advice. The information I have is that it has not been abandoned.

Can we say to traders in Blackrock that this matter will be finalised within the next 12 months and that there will be a by-pass?

If Dun Laoghaire Borough Corporation put forward proposals of their plans to acquire the necessary property and so on and that is completed in that time, the by-pass will go ahead on schedule.

The Minister is really blaming Dun Laoghaire Corporation.

No. They are experienced in these matters and know the stages that must be gone through.

Would the Minister have the decency to admit that the statement he made with regard to the adequacy of finance for roads was incorrect and that the money given for that this year was far in excess of anything ever given before in the history of the State?

That does not mean it was adequate.