Mr. Michael O'Leary:

Similarly to the response I gave to Deputy Casey earlier, we have specific programmes targeted at smaller villages to try to maintain and assist development in rural villages and small towns. It comes through the LIHAF programme and our current and capital investment programme. We are guided by the national planning framework and the local authority development plans but we make funding specifically available to local authorities. If there is a small town, village or rural community they wish to develop, they have the discretion to use that funding. We work very closely with local authorities. The Senator's example of an application being deemed premature probably relates to our previous discussion about where the priority capital investment programme is targeted. That is now swinging very much towards the wastewater side.