Contract documents for this scheme, submitted to my Department by Kilkenny County Council in the mid-1980s and revised in February 2001, have not been approved. Elements of the scheme were included in the list of water and sewerage schemes submitted by the council in response to my Department's request to local authorities to undertake fresh assessments of the needs for capital works in their areas and to prioritise their proposals on the basis of these assessments. The priority lists were taken into account in the framing of the water services investment programme, 2000-02, announced in July 2000. Because of the level of competing demand, the limited funding available, and the need to prioritise individual proposals on a national basis, it has not been possible to include the scheme in the programme.