Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, together.

All requests received in my Department are processed in accordance with both the 1997 Act and the 2003 Act and their implementation is kept under constant review.

A total of 45 requests were received last year, one of them in November, compared to 142 requests received in the previous year. Some 24 of the 45 were granted in whole or in part. In the case of nine requests, there were no records. Two other requests were transferred to other Departments and three requests were withdrawn. A total of seven requests were refused during the year. My Department received €525 in fees for the whole of 2004. Further information is set out in the following two tables.

See this speech in context