asked the Minister for the Environment the reason large business areas of Dundalk, County Louth, have been excluded from the urban renewal designation in Dundalk, whereas the whole of Castlebar, County Mayo, has been included.

The whole town of Castlebar has not been designated.

It must be the Minister's end of it.

He is getting his lines mixed up.

The designated area in Castlebar is roughly the same size as the areas designated in the other eight towns recently announced. It comprises just 15 acres of the 980 acres in the urban district. The purpose of the urban renewal incentives is to encourage development and redevelopment of inner urban areas. The areas designated were deliberately limited in size to avoid dissipating the benefits of designation over too wide an area.

I assume that the Minister knows the extent of the economic deprivation in Dundalk and I also assume that he knows where Dundalk and the Border area is but would he not agree that he is creating a privileged sector in Dundalk? Is he also aware that he has designated the wrong areas and is he furtheir aware that the Church Street and Bridge Street areas are crying out for help? Would the Minister have another look at this situation?

I would have thought that the Deputy at least would have recognised that his question was not only badly framed but also improperly framed. Fifteen acres in Castlebar have been designated and the area involved in Dundalk is also of about 15 acres.

How many people are living in Castlebar? Would the Minister not agree that the 15 acres designated in Castlebar amounts to a large proportion of its business area?

No, I would not. As I have said, it comprises 15 acres out of the total of 980 acres which is the smallest urban area, by acreage, in County Mayo but that is beside the point and I take it that what you are trying to suggest to me——

Even in his reply to me the Minister seems to be more concerned about Castlebar but what I am asking him is whether he is aware of the extent of the deprivation in the biggest town in Ireland? Would he not agree that the wrong areas in Dundalk were designated?

No, I would not. The area in Dundalk was designated following consultation with the interested parties and the local authority there. I am surprised that the Deputy would try to suggest that the designated area there is not going to be a success. I would have thought that he would have been very supportive of measure which was taken. Dundalk was chosen from a list of hundreds of towns in that it needed urban renewal and some fresh investment. Dundalk was nominated by me to be one of the chosen nine towns for that very reason.

I would like to acknowledge the Government's gesture in designating Dundalk. It should have been done before and the Minister had the opportunity to do it but having acknowledged that I believe a mistake was made and that the wrong areas of Dundalk were designated.

The Deputy is making a statement.

A Cheann Comhairle——

Is this on the same subject matter?

It is. I welcome the Minister's decision to extend the original Fine Gael decision to designate Castlebar for urban renewal. I have received a number of representations from people in the town, many of them his own supporters, who cannot locate the Minister as he is very busy. Would the Minister prepare a circular indicating the details of what is available and either distribute it to those people living in the area or make it available through the town development offices in order that those who may be interested might avail of the genuine advantages which are inherent in his plan?

I do not think that would be necessary and it certainly would not be necessary for Deputy Kenny's town because the local urban council and other interested parties are putting together a marketing package for the designated area. I am pleased that he acknowledged that it was a good plan and I do not hold anything against the fact that part of his own office property is included in the designated area.

Would the Minister not agree that Border towns such as Cavan and Monaghan were more in need of inclusion in this scheme than many of the areas he has mentioned? Would the Minister not accept that traders in those towns——

This question deals with Castlebar and I cannot have an extension of the question.

They are having great difficulty in surviving and would the Minister consider extending the scheme to include those towns?

The Deputy should put down a question appertaining to the area for which he is concerned.

Would the Minister reply to the question?

I will reply to it. Representations were received from dozens of towns and I recognise what the Deputy says to be true. There are many other towns which could benefit but there is only a certain amount of investment available. There is not much point in designating the whole of Ireland.

The Border towns——

We cannot have a general debate on the subject matter today. Deputy Quinn.

In relation to a number of the Minister's replies to supplementary questions asked by Deputy McGahon, am I right in understanding in the first instance that local authorities submitted proposals for areas to be incorporated in the designation order? If that is so can the Minister confirm that the area originally nominated by Castlebar was the area of 15 acres which is contained in the designation order and whether the area nominated by the local authority in Dundalk is also the area confirmed in the designation order or did the Minister reduce or in any way alter the submission received from Dundalk?

The areas which were designated were selected following consultation with the officials of the local authorities involved. They were designated following consideration of the development plan of the planning authority for each of those areas. Finally, an inspection was carried out by some senior planners in the Department on site in the areas. I cannot be positive as far as Dundalk is concerned but certainly the area which Castlebar Urban District Council would like to have designated was substantially reduced by me in that I felt it incorporated too big a portion of the town. Finally, after consultation between the Department's planners and the urban council we settled on the most derelict side of the town and the least developed area — it is fair to say that which was suffering greatly from the recession. Deputy Kenny would be gracious to acknowledge that.

Can the Minister tell us whether the local chambers of commerce were consulted?

I do not know the exact names of all the organisations in every town who were consulted but I do know that the Minister of State met interested parties other than the local authority before the final selection was made.

Did they include interested party members——

I am going on to the next question now.

I understand that some of your party members were present on the deputations.

And what is better they got a good hearing.

Did you realise it was Drogheda and not Dundalk you were dealing with?

I realised that all right; I was fully aware of it.

That is an interesting question.