Would the Minister confirm that he said in June of this year that he was urgently looking at contract documents and expected an early decision? Can he tell us what has delayed the decision? Can he tell us also what the cost of the Dún Laoghaire project will be and where the money will come from — if the money will come from the county council estimates or will the Department provide the money directly as there is nothing for that purpose in the Estimates as published?

As I said, the tenders were submitted recently. I am only repeating this, the work will commence in the spring and it is regarded by technical experts——

This project was submitted in July 1987.

I was about to tell the Deputy that the technical advice is that this is the kind of job which should commence in the spring with the pipe laying under the sea bed to be carried out in the summer period.

Two years after it was submitted, in July 1987.

Yes but replies to questions asked about this should have alerted the Deputy to the fact that the tenders had not arrived in the Department until quite recently. I indicated at that time, as the Deputy quite rightly said, that money would be made available for this job which I see as a priority one. It will commence in the spring and I cannot go any further than that.

How much?

I do not know whether that kind of information should be given to the Deputy but because——

It happens to be taxpayers' money.

It is. The appropriate time to give that figure would be as soon as the matter is disposed of but I will give the Deputy a kind of bald picture. The best way for me to say it is that the whole scheme will cost in advance of £10 million but the first section of the contract will cost substantially less than that. I do not think that the Deputy should press me any further.