Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise the situation regarding the Westport fire station. In 2003, details of the fire service capital programme were announced, which included the construction of a new replacement fire station in Westport. Approximately €445,700 was recouped by Mayo County Council to meet expenditure already incurred in respect of the site and fees for the Westport project. On 26 October 2005, the Department authorised Mayo County Council to invite tenders for the construction. The tenders have come back to the council and the Department. However, to date an announcement on the fire station has not been made.

I wish to outline how serious the situation is in Westport, a town that has almost doubled in population during recent years. It has 12 hotels and in the summer months the population trebles. Last night, the fire service had to travel as far as Leenaun to deal with a serious fire and tonight it has been called out to another fire.

I compliment and congratulate the station officer, Noel Duffy, and his staff for the excellent job they have done over the years on behalf of Mayo County Council and the people of Westport and surrounding areas. They have been in rented accommodation for a number of years and it is time the Minister made the announcement and provided the necessary funding, which is the problem.

I believe €4 million has been allocated for the construction of the station, the cost of which has increased to €4.4 million. If that is the problem, I ask the Government and the Department to sanction the extra €400,000. However, they should first appoint a contractor and start building as soon as possible. A site has been chosen, planning permission has been received and everybody is ready for the development.

During the local elections last year, I thought the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, would dig the foundations and put down the blocks when he was in Westport because announcements had been made. I thought it was ready for off and that the roof would be on the building before he left the town that evening. That has not happened.

I hope the Minister of State will have good news for the fire station staff, that the project will be sanctioned, that we will have the tender out next week and that the operation will be up and running as soon as possible. The staff are in rented accommodation, which costs a small fortune. Westport is an expensive town and it would be better to put the money into a project to get their own building up and running and to give that staff the building they need to provide their service. It is not fair that staff work in rented accommodation unsuitable for the job they do.

Everything is in order and I hope the Department and the Minister will sanction the project within the coming days. The tender has gone in and it is a matter for the Government to select a builder, announce that funding has been approved and get the project up and running.

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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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.