Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Ring for raising this matter. I wish to reply on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister is aware of Deputy Ring's interest in the provision of a new fire station at Westport and he shares his desire to have this project completed as quickly as possible. There has been no delay in dealing with this proposal since the Department approved the contract documents for the project on 26 October 2005. Mayo County Council advertised for tenders on 25 November with a closing date of 30 December.

Following examination of the tenders by the county council's technical advisers, a proposal for the acceptance of a tender was submitted to the Department, where it was received yesterday. This proposal must now be examined in the Department before a decision can be notified to the county council. This is likely to be within a number of weeks unless queries give rise to further correspondence between the Department and the county council. Assuming that everything is in order a decision will be announced within a couple of weeks. Funding will be available for the project as expenditure arises and a sum of €445,700 has already been paid to the local authority in respect of site costs and fees.

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