asked the Minister for Finance the estimated amount of unemployment benefit which will be paid to those workers who will be made redundant as a result of his decision to withdraw the annual research grant to archaeological excavations in Ireland for 1986.

The amount allocated for the extensive archaeological excavations at Dublin Castle this year, £300,000, is a larger amount than has been allocated in recent years for such excavations. This large allocation precluded the making of the usual grants to independent archaeologists but I am at present considering making some funds available for work on other sites in the current year. I do not envisage that any workers will be made redundant.