asked the Minister for Energy if he has yet received the interim and final reports of the committee established by him in 1983 to inquire into the high cost of electricity here; and when these reports will be published.

I have received the Interim Report of the Inquiry into Electricity Prices and expect that the final report will be available to me in about eight weeks. It will then be a matter for the Government to decide whether to publish the reports.

Did I not understand the Minister to say in the House some weeks ago in a different context that it was intended to publish these reports in any event? Has there been a change of mind?

No, there has not. The Deputy will recollect that last week in reply to a supplementary question, I told him that the interim report would not be published until we got the final report, which is due in about eight weeks time, and that it would be in the interest of everyone to wait until the final report had been completed before consideration of publication date was finally decided. There has been no change of mind in the meantime.

Is it now intended to publish both reports when the second is received?

I have told the Deputy that that is a matter for the Government. I shall be putting the reports before the Government as quickly as possible and the Government will then make a decision.

Would the Minister not agree, in view of the considerable national importance of the issue covered in these reports, that they should be published as quickly as possible after they become available?

Yes. In fact, if the Deputy looks at last week's Official Report, he will find that I said that very thing.

I take it that we shall see them.

That is the intention, as quickly as possible.