Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Killeen, to the House to respond to this issue.

On 6 March I raised on the Adjournment the urgent need for a fully-equipped modern fire station in Tallow, County Waterford. The Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who replied to the issue, stated he was fully aware of the needs in Waterford and he hoped to respond positively to the request in respect of Tallow as soon as resources allowed. He indicated he was conscious of the need for a new station in Tallow and that the matter would be very much borne in mind under the new programme.

I was delighted to read in the Dungarvan Observer of 16 June that pre-construction funding of €600,000 had been allocated by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for a new fire station in Tallow. In answer to a Dáil question put down on 26 June to the new Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding Lismore fire station, I was informed that the provision of a station in the wider west Waterford area would be considered under future programmes regarding the existing facilities, level of activity, proximity of other fire stations, fire authorities' priorities and competing demands for available funds.

The Minister, Deputy Gormley, further stated that his Department had written to the fire authority requesting an appraisal of fire cover in the wider west Waterford area given the proximity of Lismore, Tallow and Cappoquin fire stations. There was also to be an outline of priorities for replacements in the county.

Having received this reply I contacted Waterford County Council and asked for clarification. I was informed that the letter was received by Waterford County Council on 1 June 2007, dated 30 May 2007, from the private secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It reads "I have been asked by Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer to your letter regarding the proposal from Waterford County Council for a new fire station in Tallow".

I will skip a middle paragraph which relates to previous investments in County Waterford and move on to the final paragraph. It reads:

A formal proposal for the new station at Tallow has been submitted to my Department, along with proposals from competing demands for capital investment in fire services. Under the programme the Tallow fire station project has been allocated pre-construction funds of €600,000.

I sought clarification from the Minister's office in late July as to what the €600,000 towards the Tallow fire station was for. I put down a parliamentary question on 26 September and I provided a copy of the letter from the private secretary to the Minister to the Waterford county secretary with my question. The question was as follows: "To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the funding provided in his Department's capital works programme 2007 towards the Tallow fire station project".

The reply avoided the question, stating the Department had recently requested Waterford County Council to prioritise projects it wished to progress under the fire services capital programme. It further stated that the provision of Exchequer funding for a replacement fire station in Tallow will be considered under future capital programmes, having regard to County Waterford's priorities, the existing facilities at the station, the proximity of other stations and the competing demands from other fire authorities.

I have one question for the Minister of State. What is the status of the letter dated 30 May to Waterford County Council in regard to the pre-construction funds of €600,000 allocated to the Tallow fire station project?

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