I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 39 together.
I refer to my full and detailed statements on this matter both in my contribution to last week's confidence motion debate and in reply to a parliamentary question of July 1989 (Official Report Vol. 391, No. 5, Cols. 282-284).
It has always been normal for my Department to suggest improvements, whether by way of addition, modification or deletion, to local authority proposals for water and sewerage schemes. It has been fully acknowledged that the Department suggested an addition in the case of the Feltrim/Kinsealy scheme and the objective grounds for this have been clearly set out. The Department's suggestion was, of course, for a re-examination of the proposal by Dublin County Council. It was this re-examination by the council, at administrative and elected member level, which was effective in developing the amended proposal which was then adopted. In common with all significant water and sanitary services capital works which have arisen since the commencement of the Local Loans Fund (Amendment) Act, 1987, this scheme was wholly financed by a grant from my Department; the final amount of this grant will be within the cost estimate for the original scheme made by Dublin County Council.