asked the Minister for Energy if IDA and FEOGA grants have been paid to Bord na Móna for the building of a peat briquette factory at Derryfadda, Ballyforan.

Neither IDA nor FEOGA grants have been paid to Bord na Móna for the building of a peat briquette factory at Derryfadda, Ballyforan.

If and when the ongoing review is completed on the building of a peat briquette factory at Derryfadda, will IDA or FEOGA grants then be paid? Could the Minister state when the review will be finally completed?

For the benefit of the Deputy, I should just give him a quick review of the facts in relation to the proposed factory. On 31 March 1979 the then Government agreed to the erection by Bord na Móna of a peat briquette factory in the Ballyforan area of County Galway which was part of their third development plan. On 26 May 1984, having evaluated the solid fuel market and concluding that the output of Ballyforan could not be absorbed by the market at an economic price, a decision was taken by the board to defer the Ballyforan project for one year. A review of this decision was carried out by Bord na Móna in 1985. The findings were that, having regard to the board's financial projections and briquette market prospects, the project should continue to be deferred while being kept under ongoing review.

Could I inform the Minister that it is very difficult at the moment to get peat briquettes in the west and I am sure the same applies in his part of the country? It is also very frustrating for the local farmers who gave away their bogs and for the reduced workforce down there to see tonnes of milled peat transported out of Derryfadda. Can the Minister tell us if the further processing of milled peat will take place now in Derryfadda to allow for the building of a briquette factory there.

As I told the Deputy, there are no plans at the present time to go ahead with this project.