242 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has received an application by mid-west general practitioners for aid to establish a general practitioner co-operative; if so, when the application was first received by his Department; if there were delays; and if difficulties arose. [6630/02]

All applications to my Department for the establishment of general practitioner co-operatives were made by health boards-authority. In the case of the Mid-Western Health Board, initial proposals were received from that board in the latter part of 2000. An allocation of £140,000 for 2001 was made to the board to enable the necessary planning arrangements to begin.

The allocation made available for this year will see this board's co-operative, Shannondoc, commence on 21 May. There were no undue delays or difficulties experienced in setting up this service.