With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.
Contract documents for stage 1, phase 2 of the Lough Talt Regional Water Supply Scheme were submitted to my Department by Sligo County Council in February 1981 and are under consideration at present. The proposals for the scheme must be considered in the context of the amount of capital available for sanitary services schemes, the need to conserve available capital for schemes of the highest priority and the number of such schemes in progress or getting to construction for which adequate finance must be provided, including the following schemes in Sligo: Sligo and Environs Water Supply Scheme; Coolaney Sewerage Scheme. I am not in a position to say when a decision will issue to the local authority on the contract documents for the Lough Talt scheme.
I prefer not to indicate the estimated cost of the scheme in case this might prejudice the pricing of tenders for the scheme.
146.