Mr. Pat Maher:

It is stored at various locations. Approximately 25% is stored in the local authorities' stockpiles, with the remainder stored in strategic stockpiles, typically located at the ports of Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Foynes. A significant amount is held in County Louth. This is salt we purchased from the salt mine in Northern Ireland.

On the question on the proportion of the money allocated to health and safety, almost all of the expenditure made by the National Roads Authority has a health and safety component. Each time we build or consider a new scheme, whether an upgrade to a section of national road or the removal of a bad bend, safety is always one of the key considerations. If one considers the appraisals we do of the business cases and projects, the two big items that drive benefits are time savings through lack of congestion and safety. There are safety aspects to everything we do.

Aside from the major projects, we run a programme of small local safety schemes, on which we have spent approximately €20 million per annum over the past decade or thereabouts. It would be misleading, however, if we were to say expenditure on safety is limited to €20 million because health and safety is an aspect of all of the schemes. When doing pavement works, for instance, we look at skid resistance to ensure roads are safe for users.