asked the Minister for the Environment if he will confirm whether the Government have decided to up-grade the status of the Galway-Ros a' Mhíl road to be a national secondary road.

The national primary and secondary road system is now generally regarded as established, having been formally declared in 1977 following a long process of evaluation and consultation. I do not envisage any upgrading of regional roads, including the Galway to Ros a' Mhíl Road, for the foreseeable future.

Is the Minister aware that some members of the Government party during the recent election made what was termed to be an official announcement to the effect that the Government intended reclassifying this road to be a national secondary road? Am I to take it from the Minister's reply that that announcement, made to influence the voters in that election, was not correct?

That is a separate question.

I am not aware of the announcement having been made and, therefore, I am not prepared to comment on it.

The Minister will not doubt me that the announcement was made and was a very prominent feature of the news on Radio na Gaeltachta a short time before that election took place. It was received with some joy by the people who felt that at the last the Government were recognising the serious condition of the road and the need for some improvement. If the Minister is saying that he did not know of the announcement then the person who made that statement did not have the authority of the Minister to do so.

The Deputy is making a speech on this matter. He is entirely out of order.

May I take it from the Minister's reply that the person who issued the statement I referred to did so without the authority of the Minister or the Government?

In an election none of us is a Member of the House and no announcement can be made by any candidate on behalf of the Department. As candidates in the election are not Members they could not have made announcements as Deputies or on behalf of the Department of the Environment. I was not in the Department of the Environment at the time of the last election.

What does the Minister mean when he said that candidates in the election were not Members of the House?

They are not Deputies. There are many candidates in an election and not all of them are successful.

A Member of the House could be a candidate, if he so wished.

I am not going to permit a debate on this matter. I am moving on to the next question.

What the Minister has said is of no significance. The statement I referred to was made during an election campaign for political advantage and it now transpires that it was a lie. I want to establish what the position is. People cannot be allowed to make public statements for political advantage without some authority and be allowed to get away with it.

The Deputy will have to table a separate question about this matter.

May I take it that it is not proposed to make any change in regard to the status of that road?

I have answered that question already.

In case the Minister doubts anything I have said I should like to inform him that the person who allegedly made the statement was the candidate for the Taoiseach's party. I am aware that the Minister's party did not have a candidate in that election. These people have to be pulled up. They cannot be allowed to go around making such statements and get away with it.

I am moving to the next question.