Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the cost to date of implementing the rehabilitation of the Irish Steel Company site; the initial budgeted cost; the expected total cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9465/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As indicated in reply to Question No. 204 of 14 February 2006, my Department's mandate has been to secure and make safe the former Irish ISPAT site, and to have an appropriate site investigation carried out. The report of this site investigation is now being finalised and is expected to be presented in the coming weeks, following which I will be reporting to Government.

Certain demolition works are continuing and some of the buildings have had to be decontaminated as part of that contract to allow demolition proceed without causing severe dust nuisance. The costs to the State of securing and managing the site and of the site investigation up to the end of 2005 total approximately €2 million. I do not wish to pre-empt the findings of the site investigation interpretative report but it is my understanding that its estimate is not likely to diverge significantly from that provided in the 2002 Enviros report which suggested that costs of remediation could be in the region of €30 million.