asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps which have been taken to date to facilitate the renovation and restoration of the Irish College in Paris; the specific assistance which has been provided towards that projects by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The Committee of Friends of the Irish College, which was established in 1985, launched a restoration fund for the Irish College in December last year. The Committee have also recently completed the preparatory examination work which was necessary before the question of undertaking the first stage of the actual refurbishment of the college could be fully considered.

The Minister's predecessor and I have encouraged the work of this committee. Practical support has been given through the provision of 20 FÁS trainees to work on the project for a 32 week period at a cost of £63,000 and through a contribution of £10,000 for the preparatory work undertaken at the college.

I thank the Minister for his reply. Would the information the Minister has indicate at what stage the project now is in relation to the 20 FÁS trainees and what the overall timetable for the completion of this project is?

I do not have that but I assure Deputy Quinn I will have it for him this evening or tomorrow.

Is it the Government's intention to ensure that when this reconstruction project is completed the Government will give every facility to ensure that this Irish College emulates or adopts an activity similar to the Irish College in Louvain?

I would think such a suggestion as that made by Deputy Quinn would need the full approval not alone of the Government but of all the parties in the House.

May I ask the Minister, if we are going to talk in this convoluted language, if he agrees that Mr. Ahern's predecessor was the one who originally arranged for the FÁS trainees to go to Paris?

Let us stick to the subject matter under discussion.

That is a convoluted and misplaced supplementary.