asked the Minister for Communications the total amount of money given by the Exchequer by way of loans or grant to the development of Knock airport, County Mayo.

Grants totalling somewhat in excess of £9.8 million have been paid by the Exchequer towards the construction of Connaught Regional Airport. No loans have been made to the project.

In what manner were the grants paid?

They were paid out of the Vote for my Department.

Since £9.8 million of taxpayers' money has been paid out and as the Minister seemed to say, in answer to the last question, that he had no intention of looking for repayment of any of that money, will he be looking for repayment of the interest accrued? Will there by any protection for the taxpayer in this regard?

As I said, I do not intend to seek repayments of these funds unless certain contingencies arise and I do not expect that to happen. Grants were voted by this House to the project and it would be unrealistic and wrong to retrospectively seek repayment unless certain contingencies arose.

Could the Minister give the House an assurance that he will do nothing to prevent the directors of the company seeking the equity necessary to finalise the project, that he will in no way prevaricate or procrastinate and that he will refrain from making any derogatory remarks regarding the project or the people of the west in so far as this project is concerned?

There will be no prevarication and I have already made my decision clear to the board of the company in the letter I recently wrote to the chairperson. I know that Deputy Flynn and all the Deputies from that area have harassed me in relation to that subject over the past two years and that they are very involved emotionally in the subject. Sometimes factual remarks in that context are considered derogatory by them but that is not my intention.