John McGuinness
Ceist:140 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the owner of lands at Dublin Road, Kilkenny, is in receipt of payments from his Department on foot of a lease established with this person arising from an order placed on the site by his Department in 2002; if so, the amount of each payment made; if the legal action being taken by the local community was envisaged in drawing up the lease; if this action provides the Government with an acceptable reason to terminate the lease; if a contract has been signed with a construction company to develop the site and provide the temporary accommodation; if so, the name of the company; the date on which the contract was signed; the cost of the project; the cost to the State of the legal action to date; the projected cost to the end of the action; his views on whether this process represented value for money for the State, in view of other actions taken by other communities which are as yet not concluded; if he will re-evaluate his Department's proposals, withdraw from legal action or consider submitting the proposals to the local authority for planning permission which is a system more open and transparent than the one he has chosen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19631/02]