Does the First Minister recognise the immense communal effort made by the people of Newry to achieve city status, and does he agree with me that Newry City, situated almost equidistant from Dublin and Belfast, now represents a key location for investment?

I am happy to recognise the communal effort referred to by the Member. With regard to the question of location for investment, the Member will recall that we decided to locate the headquarters of InterTradeIreland in Newry precisely for the reasons he gives.

As one of the proud citizens of that other great city, Lisburn, I ask the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to ensure that there are no impediments, either bureaucratic or legal, in the full implementation of city status to both Lisburn and Newry. We want to ensure that the necessary and appropriate signage and advertising is done without delay.

I am sure that is a desire shared by the entire Administration. I am not aware that there are any impediments, legal or otherwise, but if there are, I am sure we will look at them sympathetically.

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2.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what steps it is taking to instil confidence and assist reconciliation on a North/South basis throughout Ireland.

(AQO 1139/01)

We refer the Member to the Declaration of Support contained in the Good Friday Agreement:

We wholeheartedly reaffirm the letter and spirit of that declaration.

We recognise the work being done within the Executive and by other organisations to foster and promote reconciliation, not just within our community but also more widely between North and South. We are totally committed to implementing all of the elements of the agreement and to promoting a culture of tolerance at every level of society.

Has the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister reflected on the offensive and damaging remarks of the First Minister with regard to society in the rest of Ireland when he claimed that it is sectarian, mono-cultural, mono-ethnic and pathetic? I did anticipate perhaps that the First Minister would address question 2. Nonetheless, that was avoided. However, would the Deputy First Minister care to comment on the damage -

Order. The Member must be a little cautious about some of the accusations he makes in that regard. I think that it is the case that the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister have always followed things through in a fairly orderly fashion, in fairness to them.

Will the Deputy First Minister comment on the damage caused by those remarks to confidence and reconciliation on the island of Ireland?

I have said before that the remarks that the Member is referring to were made by the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party at a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council. I, in my capacity as leader of the SDLP, rightly registered my profound disagreement with them. On other occasions, I have also registered my concern about how others would interpret them and the impact that they might have on people's attitudes to the agreement. That has been done through all the relevant channels, and Question Time is not a particularly appropriate channel for dealing with issues that arise outside the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister.

Does the Deputy First Minister not agree with me that the action at the weekend of IRA/Sinn Féin in saluting the Provo volunteers in the line of duty and talking about their noble cause, which drove many to their graves and made widows and orphans throughout the Province, and which the party opposite and the spokesman who is questioning today engaged in, would lessen any chance of getting reconciliation between people of different views in this country?

Order. I must remind the Member and the House that Ministers should be asked questions about matters that are within their areas of ministerial responsibility. The Ministers should, therefore, respond to questions within those areas of their ministerial responsibility.

The real relevance of the Member's question might be in the context of the victims strategy that was launched last week. We all need to do more and work harder. It is not just the devolved Departments whose locus is being looked at in the victims strategy. We all need to do more to show the fullest possible sensitivity to all the victims who were created by the violence that we had in the last generation.

It was a party political event at the weekend, which seems to demonstrate a linkage and an association by one party with a particular armed movement - something which, on other occasions, that party is at pains to deny. Nevertheless, it was a party political event. My views as the leader of the SDLP and the SDLP's views have been registered elsewhere on that. As with the earlier question, I do not believe that Question Time for the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister is a suitable channel for dealing with those views.

Does the Minister recognise the full potential that exists under the Good Friday Agreement for assisting North/South reconciliation? That potential exists especially in the independent consultative body and the North/South parliamentary body. Can the Minister tell us what progress has been made towards setting up those institutions?

I agree that the agreement has the potential to assist North/South reconciliation. The issue of the North/South consultative forum is being taken forward by a joint working group under the auspices of the North/South Ministerial Council, with the final report expected at the next plenary meeting.

We recognise the advantages that would accrue in establishing such a structure. It would allow interests North and South to come together to share experiences and address issues of importance and relevance to both for mutual benefit. This has been covered in the report that the First Minister and I tabled on the meeting in institutional format.

In making that report, we also tabled the annual report of the North/South Ministerial Council, which detailed the work of the Council, the various implementation bodies and Tourism Ireland Ltd - all paying testimony to the benefits of North/South co-operation. Under the agreement, the parliamentary forum is a matter for the Assembly and the Oireachtas to consider. I would like to see that consideration being activated sooner rather than later.

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4.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to detail any recent meetings with the Prime Minister.

(AQO 1113/01)

11.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what plans it has to meet the Prime Minister.

(AQO 1132/01)

With permission, Mr Speaker, we wish to group questions 4 and 11 together. We last officially met with the Prime Minister on 7 March. We plan to have regular meetings with the Prime Minister, but further dates for those meetings have not yet been set.

When the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister next meet the Prime Minister, will they convey to the Prime Minister the view that while any act of decommissioning is welcome, confidence in the Good Friday Agreement would be greatly enhanced by a more open and transparent process of arms destruction? That would also give Members of the House some place to hang their hats on the subject of decommissioning.

This is another question that perhaps takes the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister slightly beyond, or more than slightly beyond, the terms of our departmental portfolio. When meeting jointly with the Prime Minister, the First Minister and I will want to reflect positively on all the constructive developments in the implementation of the agreement. That includes the further positive move by the IRA on decommissioning. The future form and presentation of decommissioning and the implementation of the scheme is a matter for Gen de Chastelain, and I happily leave that to him.

Representing West Tyrone and living in the border town of Strabane, I ask the Minister to convey to the Prime Minister the fact that virtually all my constituency is now a dual currency zone. Will he urge the Prime Minister to accelerate entry to the euro?

First, I want to take this opportunity to express the solidarity felt across the Assembly with the Member when he suffered a menacing attack on his property recently.

Hear, hear.

I take the Member's question in the terms in which it has been asked. It is true that the influence of the euro and the inroads made in its circulation are significant, particularly in border areas such as that represented by the Member. Many businesses operate a dual currency system. However, that is not a matter of Executive policy. This question is not alone in taking us slightly beyond the brief of the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister when representing Assembly views.

However, the Minister for Europe, Mr Hain, was here recently; the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Dr Farren, and I had separate meetings with him. He made a point of going to Newry to experience the impact of the euro in a border area. Undoubtedly, he came away with a better idea of its actual impact in areas of the North than he would have had if he had not so visited.

With regard to the amnesty for terrorists on the run, can the Deputy First Minister inform the House if the First Minister has taken a different view in these meetings with the Prime Minister to that which he argued during the Weston Park discussions? Can he tell us what that view is? In the Deputy First Minister's view, will there be an extension to the Weston Park proposal for an amnesty for gunmen?

The Deputy First Minister: The matter that the Member refers to has not been the subject of any of the joint meetings of the First and Deputy First Ministers, nor should it be. While the First Minister is the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and I am the leader of the SDLP, when we are doing business as the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister we make a careful distinction between those roles. It is not always easy to be as careful as we should be. Sometimes other parties are very quick to alert us to the difference between the two roles, and at other times they seem to be very slow to see the distinction.

It is a matter of record that what emerged as a proposal from the Governments as a result of the Weston Park discussions was not something that all the other parties at Weston Park were party to or had agreed. That was why the Governments produced the package and only one party was identified with it. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister is not so identified.

This is an opportunity for Ministers to be held accountable for the things that they are responsible for as Ministers. If Members ask questions that are outwith that - even if they are permitted to go ahead - it merely uses up the time in which Ministers may be properly held to account. Ministers can only give Members nugatory answers making it clear that the matter is not part of their responsibilities as Ministers. That wastes the time for holding Ministers to account for the things for which they are responsible.

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5.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister if it has any plans to meet resident groups and encourage both communities to show respect for each other's culture in the coming months.

(AQO 1098/01)

We recognise and pay tribute to the valuable work carried out by certain community groups in resolving local issues. The Deputy First Minister and I have jointly met several groups from north Belfast and are engaged in a continuing process of dialogue with them about their circumstances. We do not have any immediate plans to meet residents or other groups in other places. However, we encourage everyone in Northern Ireland to respect each other's culture.

Does the Minister agree that community relations are much worse than they were four or five years ago and that we are spending £800,000 to £900,000 to build more peace walls? As we are approaching the season when, traditionally, my - and, I assume, the First Minister's - culture is celebrated, will he and the Deputy First Minister encourage people to respect our identity and, in particular, the Deputy First Minister to show respect for what I assume is the culture of the First Minister's tradition? I also think, perhaps in particular, of the Minister of Agriculture. It is important. We have a basic human right and we have a culture. Will the two Ministers give me an assurance that they will do everything possible to ensure that that culture is recognised and its celebration allowed this year? [Interruption]. Sorry?

Order.

As I said, we -

I do not think that it is particularly funny.

Order.

We encourage everyone in Northern Ireland to respect each other's culture. I do not agree with the Member's comment that community relations have got worse. In some interface areas in north Belfast there is an apparent deterioration in the situation, but I am not sure whether that is a new factor or whether it is the tensions that have always existed coming more clearly into focus now that there is no longer a terrorist campaign. The terrorist campaign had the effect of suppressing or preventing clashes that might otherwise have occurred.

There are many places in Northern Ireland where community relations have improved since the agreement. However, the continuing problems in interface areas are a clear message to everyone that if we wish to encourage and improve community relations, we have to address the problems in interface areas. If we wish to improve community relations, we all have a responsibility to defuse tensions over traditional parades.

Will the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister give serious consideration to establishing a task force, similar to that in north Belfast, to investigate the intercommunity tensions that have arisen in Portadown, where the threat of violence ensures that diversities are not celebrated in peace, harmony and understanding of each other?

I am deeply conscious, as the Member can no doubt imagine, of both the similarities and the dissimilarities between north Belfast and the situation in Portadown, particularly with regard to Drumcree. If we are successful in defusing the problems in north Belfast, we will have to look seriously at what lessons may be learned from the action we are taking there, and to what extent those lessons may be applicable elsewhere. As I said a moment ago, if we are looking at how to improve community relations, we must focus on areas like north Belfast. We have to consider carefully whether there is something we can do and, if so, how to do it. Nothing would give me or, I am sure, the Deputy First Minister more pleasure than to be able to defuse the interface problems that we have in both of the areas that have been mentioned.

What plans, if any, does the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister have to meet those involved in the Orange Institution to ensure that the culture that I, and others on this side of the Chamber adhere to, is maintained and enhanced? Many people believe that that culture has second-class status. What steps are being taken to address that?

I do not accept the point that the culture that the Member refers to is second-class. We are all aware of the problems that exist, but those relate essentially to parading. The Member will know that a review of the Parades Commission is under way. He will have the opportunity therefore to make his views felt and to make submissions to the person carrying out the review. It is a reserved matter and not one in which we as First Minister and Deputy First Minister can, in that capacity, engage.

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6.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister if it will implement the recommendations of 'A Mighty Silence - A Report on the Needs of Lesbian and Bisexual Women in Northern Ireland'.

(AQO 1116/01)

We welcome the report as a useful outline of the needs and services available in that community. Our officials are giving the document careful consideration. The report's recommendations relate to the establishment of a new advocacy organisation to represent lesbian and bisexual women and the change in the role of the lesbian advocacy services initiative, which commissioned the report. It is therefore for it to consider implementing the recommendations.

I thank the Deputy First Minister for that heartening reply. I take on board the considerations that have been raised, but within those, can some work be done to ensure that the myths and misinformation surrounding the lesbian and bisexual population are eliminated, that their rights are upheld and that they are given the same priority as others in society?

Under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, all public authorities have a statutory duty to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between social categories, including sexual orientation. Raising awareness in the positive way that the Member has referred to is part of promoting equality of opportunity. The inclusion of sexual orientation in the statutory duty at section 75 is itself an important milestone in promoting equality of opportunity. However, as the Member's question and the report suggest, there are many problems and misconceptions and many forms of discrimination that we still have to work through and against.

The Deputy First Minister will agree with me that we always want Northern Ireland to avoid any accusation that it is a narrow-minded, pathetic little country. He will have been concerned to read in the report that 20% of those interviewed had been subject to some kind of violent assault. The report reflected on stories of vilification, abuse and isolation. In the light of that, if that is still the case in 2002, will the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, with its remit to pursue equality, give some attention to a programme that would help avoid the bullying and harassment of young people in particular, among whom terms of sexual orientation are still used as a form of abuse?

The NIO has agreed with the Executive to co-ordinate a strategy to tackle violence against women in Northern Ireland. The Member's question raises the point about whether the strategy can do more to identify some of the issues facing lesbian and bisexual women. We are more than happy to ensure that that is addressed. The Member also raises wider points that affect some people, and we recognise that young people, in particular, are vulnerable to precisely that sort of bullying and the pressures that such bullying can bring. That is apparent in other statistics. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister will consider the report, and it will consider how to work through its responsibilities, under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, in the Departments involved with the different groups, be they people who suffer because of their sexual orientation or the most vulnerable age groups.

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7.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to make a statement on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's report on juvenile justice and, in particular, on what representation has been made to include juvenile justice in the remit of the children's commissioner.

(AQO 1134/01)

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission published a highly critical report on the rights of children in custody. The bulk of the report is aimed at the NIO, which has reserved responsibility for criminal justice matters. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Department of Education will consider the recommendations that are appropriate to them. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister considers it important for the children's commissioner to have a broad remit and for juvenile justice to be included in that. We are working closely with the NIO to that end.

I thank the First Minister for his reply and for his reassurance that juvenile justice will be part of the remit of the children's commissioner. Will he reassure the House that the children's commissioner will have extensive authority and powers on children's matters?

The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister intends to have an effective children's commissioner, and that requires a range of powers to be given to the commissioner. We were also concerned about ensuring that the grounds on which the powers are exercisable are clearly stated. Juvenile justice is a reserved matter, and we can give the commissioner authoritative power to deal with that area only with the approval of the Secretary of State. His approval is required for those provisions to enable us to legislate in the reserved field. If the Secretary of State withholds his approval, we cannot legislate in that area. We are working with the NIO in that respect. We hope to conclude that work quickly because we are aware of the timetable and of the need to introduce the legislation soon.

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8.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what progress has been made on the introduction of e-government in OFMDFM, as a Department; the Executive and Government overall; and to make a statement on what plans there are for further developments over the next three years.

(AQO 1126/01)

Last summer, the Executive endorsed targets for the electronic delivery of 25% of key Government services by 2002, with a target of 100% by 2005. That demonstrates the importance that the Executive attach to e-government as part of the commitment made to modernise Government in the Programme for Government. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister has the lead role in developing e-government. In November 2001, we published a corporate strategic framework that set out how Departments should develop their e-government plans. In line with that framework, all Departments, including OFMDFM, have produced an e-business strategy that sets out how we shall achieve the targets for electronic service delivery. The central IT unit in OFMDFM will commission an overarching e-business strategy that will draw together the common threads in the departmental strategies. It will set out the Executive's priorities in electronic service delivery and the potential for joined-up service delivery.

The corporate strategic framework for the delivery of Government services specifies that Departments will consult with their customers to ensure that their needs are addressed. Will the Minister outline any processes that OFMDFM or the subsidiary bodies in the Department may have used to identify the needs of customers down the line? I am worried that, although we have the strategy - and I have no doubt that those who are at the head of political matters are doing the right thing - there is resistance down the line to adopt e-government practice through the ranks of the Civil Service.

As to the impressions of resistance that the Member has, the First Minister and I are happy to have any such evidence pointed out to us. An interdepartmental e-government board has been established, chaired by a senior official in our Department. The board is tasked with the delivery of the Executive's vision of a modern and efficient public service alive to the latest developments in e-business and meeting the needs of businesses and citizens in Northern Ireland as all Departments go about the business of government in the modern context.

How many services does the Department provide, and how many are regarded as being key services? When does it expect to publish the comparative costs of electronic service delivery and the current paper transaction for the same service?

I have to ask the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to reply in writing, as we have now come to the end of questions to them.

Regional Development

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Question 3, in the name of Mr Campbell, question 16, in the name of Ms Lewsley, and question 17, in the name of Mr McGrady, have been withdrawn and will receive written answers.

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1.

asked the Minister for Regional Development what steps he is taking to address the problem of tailbacks of traffic through provincial towns.

(AQO 1127/01)

The proposed regional transportation strategy, which is out for public consultation, envisages the construction of a number of town and village bypasses in the next 10 years. The strategy has to be considered later this year and the additional funding has to be secured, but if this type of programme can be realised it will make a significant contribution to enhancing the environment by reducing congestion.

Meanwhile, the Roads Service has already commenced work on the Limavady, Strabane and Newtownstewart bypasses, while the proposed bypasses of Comber and Toomebridge are due to start later this year. The Omagh throughpass is currently being processed through the statutory procedures. All these schemes will directly assist in addressing the problem of tailbacks in those areas.

Furthermore, the Roads Service will continue to invest in traffic management measures to improve the efficiency and safety of existing road space in towns and villages. However, we all have to acknowledge that building and improving roads is not the complete answer to traffic congestion. We have to address the spiralling demand to provide for the private car. In this context, the aim of the regional transportation strategy is to enable a move away from a transport system dominated by car use to a more balanced and integrated system in which walking, cycling and public transport will be attractive options on many trips. The focus will be on moving people and goods rather than moving vehicles; it will be on making people more aware of the full cost and impact of their transport choices and on reducing the need to travel.

I could not agree more. However, I am sure the Minister is aware that a blueprint has been prepared outlining how a bypass can be constructed at Magherafelt by use of public-private partnership. Can the Minister inform the House of the progress of this venture, and will he consider a similar scheme for Cookstown? Does he realise that up to £10 million may be lost annually to business in my constituency, Mid Ulster, due to traffic hold-ups, not to mention business being subdued due to inadequate transport infrastructure?

I am somewhat surprised to hear this question from the Member. The Roads Service wrote to all Assembly Members indicating that it was preparing its 10-year forward planning schedule and asked Members to bring to its attention any applications that they felt were of significance and importance in their constituency. One would have expected that, due to the great importance that we are now told that this particular scheme has, the Member would have written to inform the Roads Service of this issue. He did not. However, my Department is aware of the various road proposals in that area, all of which are being assessed in line with the 10-year programme, about which I hope to make an announcement later in the year.

As the Minister is aware, I come from the second city. Although it is not a provincial city, it still has severe traffic congestion. One solution to the problem was to be the establishment of the Glengalliagh Road on the Skeoge lands. Lord Dubs gave an assurance some time ago that the money was in the pipeline. The Department for Regional Development gave an understanding in its recent response that, if money was used to strengthen the Foyle Bridge, the funding might not be there for the road. Will the Minister give an assurance that that road will still be provided?

I shall not enter into any discussions on the rivalry between our various cities. I shall simply congratulate them all. Londonderry's importance is recognised in the regional development strategy and will be recognised in the outworking of the regional transportation strategy.

The Member will be aware that there has been a problem with the tenders submitted to strengthen the Foyle Bridge. To say that they were significantly over our estimates would be to understate our surprise when we opened those tenders. Rather than impact on schemes such as Skeoge, we have concluded that we would put off strengthening the Foyle Bridge. Users of the bridge will be content to know that no immediate difficulties will be encountered by the delay in implementing that scheme. The Department will assess the situation in light of present proposals. We hope to proceed with the schemes outlined for that area. We must go through the statutory processes, which do delay those schemes, but the Department is as keen as Members will be to see schemes outlined for their areas move ahead.

When considering the tailbacks in provincial towns, will the Minister also consider the possible use of bus lanes in some of the larger provincial towns? The Minister encourages people to use environmentally friendly means of transport. Therefore, will he consider the use of bus lanes by motorcyclists, who take up less room on the roads and who use less fuel when they travel throughout the Province?

Madam Deputy Speaker, my Friend will be aware that some rural areas are looking for buses, never mind bus lanes. The use of bus lanes will be considered in some of the larger provincial towns. I congratulate the Member on his ingenuity in getting question 13 brought forward to be taken with question 1. The issue of bus lanes is an important matter and we have already agreed that public hire taxis should use the bus lanes. The plans to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes are being progressed and we are considering the use of those lanes by private hire taxis as well as buses.

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2.

asked the Minister for Regional Development what assessment he can make of the proposed development at Listooder Road, Saintfield, in relation to traffic congestion, inconvenience to local residents and the safety of pupils attending the Academy Primary School; and to make a statement.

(AQO 1104/01)

I am aware of the recently submitted outline planning application for a proposed housing development of 52 houses, accessing from the Listooder Road, Saintfield, which is near to the Academy Primary School. That application also includes a proposal for another smaller development of 17 houses to be accessed from The Grange, off the Ballynahinch Road. As a statutory consultee in the planning process, my Department's Roads Service has been consulted by the Department of the Environment's Planning Service regarding that application. Roads Service's consideration of any application focuses on the potential impact that a development may have on the efficiency of the public road network and, of course, on road safety. Therefore, I assure the Member that when that application was assessed, due account was taken of all the relevant traffic and pedestrian issues, especially peak-time congestion outside Academy Primary School when parents are leaving their children to school or collecting them. Although discussions with the Planning Service about various aspects of the application are ongoing, the Roads Service has concerns about the sight lines and proposed arrangements for access to The Grange. I understand that, although there is no objection in principle to the proposed access to Listooder Road, the Roads Service would like access to be moved further away from the school entrance.

Although the question involves two separate issues, the concerns arise from a single planning application. What is the Roads Service's attitude to the whole planning application?

Although many different plans may propose different entrances that will give rise to different road issues, they form part of one outline planning application. Therefore, it does not meet the Roads Service's requirements. That view will be made known to the Planning Service. However, it is a matter for the Department of the Environment's Planning Service to decide what action to take. Not only are there road issues but there are other planning issues that must be taken into account.

Is the Minister aware that many residents in Saintfield are concerned about that planning application? Many of them have written to me. A favourable answer was received from the Minister of the Environment that each complaint will be considered. Can the Minister confirm that his Department will not approve the application unless there is adequate provision for good road systems in the area? Will he confirm that the South Eastern Education and Library Board, acting on behalf of the school, has already opposed the proposed applications?

My Department will not support any planning application unless it is satisfied that it will not affect violently the road network in the area and that road safety matters are satisfactory. I am aware of public concern about the application. Roads issues are involved, and the Roads Service is not satisfied with the proposals in their totality. However, I warn Members that it is an outline application. Therefore, the applicant can take account of areas where there are road problems and could resubmit a proposal that takes them into account.

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4.

asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline any progress which has been made on introducing e-government methods and programmes in his Department and any plans in place for further development in the next three years.

(AQO 1130/01)

My Department's e-business strategy details the actions that it intends to take to enable 100% of those key services that can be delivered electronically to be delivered by 2005. The strategy sets out the means by which the target will be met and includes, for example, the possibility of the introduction of contact centre arrangements that would allow the public to deal directly with the Department for Regional Development by telephone, e-mail and the Internet. That will provide a significant opportunity for improved customer service.

The 'Corporate Strategic Framework for Delivery of Government Service Electronically in Northern Ireland' specifies that Departments will consult with their customers to ensure that their needs are addressed. What processes did the Department for Regional Development and its subsidiary agencies use to identify their customers' needs for electronic services?

I welcome the opportunity to answer questions on a new area of activity for the Department for Regional Development. It is good to see that some people are interested in matters other than the old faithful issues of roads, water, ports and so forth. As someone with considerable interest in computer matters - in some circles I might be considered to be something of an anorak - I can see immense possibilities for e-government.

Apart from the study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had a wide range of consultation, the Department for Regional Development has a full e-consultation process on its web site. The Department can be considered to be enabled 100% in that area. The only problem is that many of my Department's functions are not suitable for electronic delivery. However, there is clearly e-information and e-consultation. In those areas in which transactions can take place, they can be done in a wider sphere.

The important issue for the Department for Regional Development is in relation to the qualitative response that it gives to the strategy. It would be easy for the Department to have 100% of its services that are capable of electronic delivery to be so available by 2005. I can argue that 90% of those services are electronically delivered at present, which goes beyond the 25% to be delivered by the end of the year. However, those services can be delivered in several different ways. According to the strategy it would be sufficient for them to be delivered by telephone. In my view, unless the response is via telephone, e-mail and the Internet, it is not a proper response. I want to see quality in the way that the Department delivers on the requirements and targets that have been set, not simply the meeting of targets.

When does the Minister expect to publish the comparative costs of electronic service delivery versus the costs of the current paper transaction for the same service?

I have no plans to do so at present. I am satisfied that there are no secrets. I believe in open Government. There is a document that I will make available in the Library if Members have not already seen it. They can see either the executive summary or the larger version if they wish. In fact, if they go to the Department for Regional Development's web site they will probably be able to download the document. I will examine the specific issue of comparative costs. However, the Department is not offering an "instead of" option. It is putting forward an additional option. If the Member is seeking figures in relation to what that additional mechanism is costing, I can tell him that in 1999-2000 the capital costs were £3·2 million, but the departmental running costs were around £4·3 million. In 2000-01 the capital costs were £3·1 million, and the departmental running costs were £4·6 million. In 2001-02 the capital costs were £3·8 million, and the departmental running costs were £5 million.

I point out, however, that those are costs by which the Department is gaining the advantage of being able to function at a higher level. Therefore, the advantage is not simply to the consumer but also to the Department.

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5.

asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the cost of producing documents for consultation over the last three years, including preparation, printing, distribution and all ancillary costs.

(AQO 1118/01)

In 1999-2000 the cost was £9,210. In 2000-01 the cost was £35,047. The latest figure that the Department has for the cost in 2001-02 is £42,580.

Although the figures may be small in financial terms, does the Minister not agree that we are rapidly running the risk of consulting ourselves to death in a sea of paperwork? Can he explain to the House the benefits, economic and otherwise, of sending that glossy brochure on the proposed discontinuance of service on the Antrim to Knockmore railway line to around 500 individuals and groups? When one looks at the types of groups that the brochures have been sent to, one wonders what value could be achieved from the exercise. I will name a few of them - Earthwatch, the International Tree Foundation, the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers' Association, the Rainbow Project and Queer Space. The list also includes numerous women's groups, some of which share the same postal address, as well as the Family Planning Association and Foyle Friend. Some of those organisations do not give a toss about the Antrim to Knockmore railway line. They are probably not aware of where it is.

Order. Will the Member ask his question?

Does the Minister agree that to send the brochure out to such organisations and individuals could be construed as a waste of taxpayers' money?

I certainly agree with that, but I was not among those who supported the Belfast Agreement and the equality agenda contained within it. [Interruption].

Order. The Minister must have the opportunity to be heard.

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