asked the Minister for Finance if he will establish as a matter of urgency an inland clearance depot in the Dublin area which would grant customs clearance facilities 24 hours per day, seven days per week similar to the clearance systems which operate in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

It is not a function of the Minister for Finance or of the Revenue Commissioners to establish depots for the inland clearance of goods. The Revenue Commissioners, however, are empowered to approve places for the deposit inland of goods pending customs clearance. Approved places can take either of two forms. Authorised consignees' premises cater for goods transported under the Community transit procedure. Transit depots cater for other imported goods. Approval of either type of premises is given only where there is a reasonable volume of business. Approval is subject to conditions imposed by the commissioners. At present customs officers visit authorised consignees' premises and transit depots when goods have been selected for examination or for the purpose of customs control. This usually takes place during normal working hours. Any extension of the facilities provided by customs, such as in relation to hours of attendance, would depend on the volume of business involved in a particular application and the availability of customs staff.

Is the Minister aware of the problems being experienced by those involved in the fast freight forwarding and importing business generally at present? They cannot import or carry out their business properly at the weekend without clearance facilities. What I am asking for is that a customs pound or shed be made available on weekends or at hours when the customs clearance people are not working at present.

There are 47 authorised consignees' premises in the Dublin area at present. Customs entries for goods delivered to these premises are accepted from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. with provision from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, on payment of fees. That represents a relatively reasonable availability of the service. I would be interested to hear of complaints specifically substantiated from people who reasonably cannot comply with either the basic times or the extra hours made available on payments of fees.