The provision of health services in the Ballinrobe area is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the Western Health Board. My Department has made inquiries of the board concerning the matter raised and has been informed that the 1996 census shows that the Ballina rural district comprises 18 townlands, with a population of 11,342, of whom 1,805 (16%) are over 65 years of age. The Western Health Board accepts the need to build a community nursing unit in Ballinrobe and I concur with that view. Decisions in relation to the prioritisation of funding for projects within the overall allocation available under the national development plan are a matter for each health board in the first instance. In conjunction with my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, I am currently exploring alternative options for funding developments such as that proposed at Ballinrobe.