Accepting that there is an element of discretion with local authorities as to what constitutes essential services, surely the Minister can define what in his view and the view of the Government is regarded as an essential service to be provided by a local authority? Perhaps the Minister will enlighten the House on that point?

The Deputy agrees that individual authorities see essential and emergency services in different ways depending on the location of the authority and so on. Emergency services involve housing, roads, sanitary services and environmental services.

My question related to essential services.

Essential services could relate to such things as local authority housing, maintenance of roads, traffic control, public water systems, sewerage systems and that kind of thing. Essential services could also relate to waste disposal, burial grounds and so on. There is a whole list of essential services. The services should be attended to by the local authority from the funds available to them up to a level that they would regard as being adequate for the whole community. I have not got an arbitrary list to decide for any local authority as to what they should regard as essential.

How can the Government be satisfied that the rates support grant they intend to provide for local authorities will provide for a minimum level of essential services if the Government do not know what is a minimum level of essential services?

The services are laid out under the eight programme heads and they will be considered at the estimates meetings of all the authorities in the country between now and the end of November and they will establish, with the amount of money available to them the level of services they regard as adequate. As far as I am concerned they will have adequate funds.

I thank the Chair for his indulgence. In view of the Minister's offer of co-operation and his vision as to the range of services in different locations and having regard to the real difficulty that local authorities will be faced with when striking the rate, will the Minister advise on one or two courses that are open to me? I can put down the question again so that he can define the services or, alternatively, the Government and the Minister, as the Minister responsible, can clearly set out in unambiguous terms the emergency and essential services, irrespective of any part of the country in which a citizen is located, that the Department of the Environment regard as the minimum to justify a rates support grant?

We are having repetition on this question.

The Deputy will pursue the question anyway in due course, following the determination of striking the rate by the various authorities later on in this year.

I seek guidance and assistance.

What I gave the Deputy by way of example was not exhaustive; it was by way of giving an example as to the way I saw services being applied in the past, whether they are essential, nonessential or emergency services. As against that, it still is a matter for the local authorities to judge how best they can provide the service they think is necessary.

The Chair has called the next question, Minister.