7.

asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister whether there are any plans to set up a working group to promote social inclusion for the disabled.

(AQO 934/01)

During 2002, we will establish an interdepartmental working group to progress work on the priority of promoting social inclusion on disability, with input from the voluntary sector as necessary. The working group's focus will be to develop a strategy to implement the Executive's response to the disability rights task force recommendations and to consider any wider issues raised in the consultation on that response. The working group will also monitor the progress of the Executive's response to the task force's recommendations.

I thank the First Minister for his response. Will the group be set up as an implementation body to ensure that legislation is issued?

As I said, the primary focus of the interdepartmental working group will be on the Executive's response to the disability rights task force's recommendations. We look to that working group to develop a strategy to implement those recommendations.

What measures are being put in place to ring-fence money for disability projects, and what guarantees of accountability will be given to ensure that the funds will be spent on the projects to which they have been allocated?

All allocations of money are made in the context of the accountability disciplines that apply here. The effectiveness of the audit arrangements and the Public Accounts Committee has been demonstrated clearly in recent months. The Member can rest assured that the matter will be dealt with properly.

Regional Development

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1.

asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline progress on the water resource strategy.

(AQO 936/01)

The Water Service is carrying out a major review of its water resource strategy for the period to 2030. The review has taken longer than anticipated, due to difficulties experienced in the collection and analysis of the extensive and complex operational data required for the development of the strategy. The review is nearing completion, and I expect the draft strategy to be published for public consultation before the summer. However, I am unable to give a more precise date at this stage. Consultation will be wide-ranging, and all interested parties will be given the opportunity to comment on the proposed strategy.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I appreciate that such matters can be complex and can take some time. However, I note from Hansard that, during the debate on the Estimates in June 2000, the Minister of Finance and Personnel said that the water resource strategy report was due in 2001. The Minister for Regional Development has now indicated that a draft strategy will be published for consultation before the summer. However, we have no indication of when the final strategy will be agreed.

Is the Minister aware that many projects - I have in mind one that Newry and Mourne District Council is pursuing at Camlough Lake - are dependent on the findings of, and intentions outlined in, the water resource strategy? Can the Minister confirm that people have told the Department that the substantial funding that may be available for projects is being put in jeopardy by the time that the Department is taking to get its act together on the strategy? Can he assure the House that the Department will publish the consultation document as quickly as possible and that the consultation exercise will be carried out as quickly as possible, so that people who are waiting for the Department to get its act together can go ahead with their projects?

The Department wants to ensure that it has a robust strategy. It is essential, therefore, that we take into account all the information and that we ensure that the information is accurate and can be relied upon. The Member indicated a particular interest in Camlough Lake. At the moment, around two and a half megalitres of water are taken from Camlough Lake each day. I understand that an earlier proposal to extract some 14 megalitres a day was not greeted with any great enthusiasm by people in the Newry and Mourne area. I trust that when the review is completed, people in that area will not be unduly concerned by the proposals for the district. During the consultation process, residents will, of course, have the opportunity to make their views known on the amount of water to be extracted from Camlough Lake.

Can the Minister outline the timetable for the publication of the water resource strategy? What opportunities will there be for Members and the public to participate in the consultation process?

We are in the final run-in. In the past week or so I have received a presentation from the Water Service that gave me the background and framework for the resource strategy. It is now in its final stages and is currently being written up.

I have agreed that it would be appropriate for the Water Service to meet with the Committee for Regional Development so that the Committee is the first to see and comment on the strategy. I expect that meeting to take place around Easter, and I would like to put the strategy out for wider public consultation immediately afterward. I regard public consultation as an anchor element in all of my Department's strategies. Plans are greatly strengthened when they are subject to public consultation, and that process provides a degree of additional ownership, whether the strategy involves roads, transport, regional development or, in this case, water.

I understand that all new houses can be fitted with water meters. Will the Minister announce the introduction of water metering and charges as part of the water resource strategy?

Urging a Minister to bring in metering and charging for water is a novel course for an elected representative to take. The last Assembly in this place was almost, if not totally, unanimous in its decision that it did not want to take that route. There are arguments for charging, but I do not believe that metering is the most effective way of doing so as there are serious deficiencies and inequalities in that process. For example, an individual who owns a house worth £0·5 million would pay the same amount as someone who owns or rents a similar or smaller house that is much less expensive. Therefore, the process would militate against the poor.

I watched some of the coverage of a Public Accounts Committee meeting on this issue. I will not be considering metering as a mechanism simply to determine the degree of leakage. It is an expensive system that would probably cost about £120 million to implement. If I had that amount of money, I would spend it in other ways that would result in much better value for the community.

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2.

asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline his proposals for upgrading the main traffic route from Portglenone to Randalstown; and to make a statement.

(AQO 928/01)

The Member will appreciate that there are many more aspirations and demands for road schemes than there are resources to meet them. It is in that context of limited resources that the Roads Service must make difficult decisions in prioritising schemes. The B52 Largy Road between Portglenone and Randalstown is a relatively narrow and undulating rural route, particularly the northern half. However, any significant improvement to the road would be hindered by the close proximity of properties and private entrances and would be expensive. Given the many other competing priorities, particularly on key transportation corridors, the Roads Service has no current plans to upgrade that route.

I should declare an interest in the matter as I use this road every day and am a witness to the accidents that occur. Does the Minister accept that when other routes choke up with traffic, that route becomes a main feeder route to the M2 motorway and therefore requires substantial upgrading, not only for the safety of motorists, but for the safety of pedestrians too?

As with many other roads in the Province, that road is important to the overall network, not least because it transports the hon Gentleman to the Assembly every day. However, I am sure that he does not offer that as a reason for giving that route priority. The Department examines objective criteria when making decisions on the Province's roads, particularly in the context of the regional transportation strategy. That route is not one of those that would be given priority under the proposals contained in the draft regional transportation strategy.

When Members were asked to express their priorities for the 10-year plan, I received no correspondence from the hon Gentleman, either through my predecessor or the director responsible for the Roads Service.

What would be the cost per kilometre of upgrading parts of that route to become a dual carriageway?

That would be difficult and expensive work, given the topography of the site. The Roads Service has not costed the dual carriageway proposition because that would involve unnecessary expenditure, given that the work is not a priority. However, road safety records are examined to determine where improvements are needed. Under the draft regional transportation strategy, and given the available funds, the road does not meet the priority requirements to enable it to be upgraded to a dual carriageway.

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3.

asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline his policy regarding the provision of car parking spaces in Belfast.

(AQO 921/01)

My Department's policy on the provision of car parking spaces in Belfast is aimed at facilitating the efficient use of road space, improving the vitality and viability of the city centre by keeping the most convenient parking spaces available for shoppers and visitors and supporting my Department's transportation principles. Pursuant to that policy, my Department has provided charged and free off-street car parks in Belfast and has introduced a charged on-street parking scheme in 92 city centre streets.

Will the Minister consider piloting residents' car parking schemes in Greater Belfast as soon as possible? Such schemes would enhance the well-being of inner-city residents, whose streets are used as unofficial free car parks. In addition, such measures would contribute to the general transport strategy by discouraging commuters from using cars.

My Department and I are happy to take that proposition on board. However, the scheme would be viable only if there were a clear undertaking to enforce those measures. At present, the police are not prepared to support the enforcement of restrictions relating to residential parking areas. Therefore, we must examine the wider issue of whether the Department would have the power to enforce such a scheme. Without enforcement, the pilot scheme would not achieve its intended benefits.

Further to the Minister's response, is he aware that as a result of the diminution of police resources stemming from the Belfast Agreement, the police service is now considering ceasing to impose car- parking restrictions? What would be the likely implications of that for the Minister's Department, and how would it affect city and town centres and road safety?

Northern Ireland remains the only part of the United Kingdom that does not have the necessary primary legislation to decriminalise parking enforcement. Such powers would permit the enforcement of on-street waiting restrictions by the roads authority, as opposed to the police. My Department has already appointed a specialist adviser to assist in a study on the decriminalisation of parking enforcement, and consultants will soon be appointed to carry out a feasibility study.

Strangely, during the review of legislation that led to the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, the Department was keen to decriminalise parking enforcement. However, the RUC was opposed to it.

I understand that the police want to direct diminishing resources towards key objectives, and the enforcement of waiting restrictions is not seen as a priority. However, the police and the Department are responsible organisations, and I am sure that the police would never withdraw from enforcement before the Department was ready for a seamless transfer. I am sure that the gap between the police's giving it up and our taking legislation through the House to enable us to take it over could be narrowed in further consultation.

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Does the Minister agree that in the context of road traffic safety, urban space must be managed and that further provision of parking spaces without proper traffic management measures is not the way to create a sustainable traffic management scheme?

Yes.

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4.

asked the Minister for Regional Development if Water Service has met its targets to reduce water leakage.

(AQO 935/01)

The target of reducing leakage by 13 megalitres a day in 2000-01 was not achieved. That was mainly due to the damage caused by the freeze- thaw in the Christmas and new year period, involving over 340 bursts in the water distribution system. So much water was leaking as a result of the damage that an additional 76 megalitres had to be put into the distribution system to maintain supplies to customers.

The levels of water leakage, or "unaccounted-for water", are too high and are directly related to underfunding over a long period, which has prevented investment in the water network. The effect of the freeze-thaws over the last two Christmases demonstrates the fragility of the water infrastructure and the need for substantial investment to bring it up to modern standards. The Water Service has invested some £22 million in leakage detection and repair in the last four years and intends to invest a further £25 million over the next four years to achieve what is described as an "economic level of leakage".

I appreciate that there are infrastructural problems. Nonetheless, they were there when the targets were set. What specific targets were set by the Water Service to reduce water leakage in the 2000-01 financial year, and how did the Water Service perform? What steps are being taken to address that unmitigated failure?

It is one thing for somebody to say that we were aware of the infrastructure when targets were set, but what we were not aware of was the weather. The House recognises the important part weather conditions play because it has had to address the issue in relation to roads, another of my responsibilities. However, the infrastructure is Victorian in some instances, and certainly there has been massive underfunding. Therefore, it is vulnerable to weather conditions. I have today outlined the target, which is to get towards the economic level of leakage. My Department has now invested more money in that in an attempt to reach that target.

Members must recognise that we are dealing with a long network, which, if it were put end to end, would reach across the Atlantic, and that is the kind of network that has to be searched for leaks. Incidentally, much of it is in private property, so it is not a simple task. It is a difficult task, and the Department is underfunded in its attempt to tackle it.

Does the Minister accept that the Northern Ireland Audit Office report into water leakage is disturbing, given that up to 37% of water circulated is leaking away needlessly? What immediate steps will the Department take to address that problem, particularly before we enter a long period of dry weather?

The level of leakage is unacceptable, and for that reason we have set ourselves the targets. There will always be some level of leakage in a system. That is why we keep talking about the economic level of leakage - the level beyond which it becomes cheaper to produce more water than spend money attempting to stop leaks from the existing system.

The only steps that can be taken involve detection systems. They take many forms; reporting leakage is one. However, we are not dealing with one massive gush of water, we are dealing with thousands of small leaks or breaks at joints in the system. There are millions of joints to be covered. The problem is not as simple as Members may think.

We know how much water leaves the reservoirs: we can meter that. However, without taking up the proposal by the Ulster Unionists to meter and charge for water, we do not know how much is being taken at the other end. Therefore, it is quite possible that the estimates of consumption may not be accurate and that assumed leakage levels may not be as high as are contemplated.

I support the Minister's efforts not to introduce metered water to housing properties. Is he aware that the new water meters being installed at rural roadsides are being run over continuously by heavy vehicles, thereby smashing them? That is contributing further to severe water loss, not only to the Department but to the hard-pressed farmer. Will he take immediate action to see that the problem is rectified?

I must tell the hon Gentleman that the problem has not been reported to me. I will enquire to see how prevalent it is and what steps can be taken to avoid it.

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5.

asked the Minister for Regional Development what road improvements are planned for the A505 between Cookstown and Omagh.

(AQO 930/01)

The Roads Service is currently carrying out a scheme to resurface approximately 1·8 kilometres of the A505 west of Creggan crossroads. The scheme is estimated to cost around £90,000. In addition, the Roads Service plans to commence construction of a mini-roundabout on the A505 at the junction of Westland Road and Drum Road in Cookstown later this month. It also plans to resurface a further 650-metre section of the A505 from Farmhill Road towards Glendale Filling Station near Omagh in 2002-03. The latter schemes are estimated to cost around £5,000 and £20,000 respectively.

Has the Minister considered the statistics that reveal that 34% of accidents occurred on the A505 over the period April 1998 to March 2001? There were 99 injury-causing accidents, resulting in two deaths, 37 serious injuries and 150 people being slightly injured over that time. I now know of another fatal accident on that road. What action is the Minister's Department taking to reduce the number of accidents on that road and to encourage drivers to be more aware of its dangers and accident spots?

I am aware of the record of injuries on that road and of the fatal accident on the A505 recently. I want to convey my condolences to the family of the lady who was tragically killed in that road accident, which I believe occurred on 8 February. I understand that the police are still investigating the likely cause of that accident. Therefore, it would be premature for me to comment now on whether there was any road contribution to it. The Roads Service is aware of the accidents that have occurred and is currently reviewing signing and lining provisions to see what improvements can be implemented.

I agree that it is vital that the Cookstown to Omagh Road be improved. However, does the Minister agree that a bypass at Cookstown must be a priority, because that would assist industrial development in the area?

Will the Minister inform the Ulster Unionist Member that his assertion that both the Omagh and Ballymena divisions serve Mid Ulster is incorrect? The Omagh division serves all of Mid Ulster; therefore, to contact the Ballymena office would be a waste of time.

My hon Friend never misses an opportunity to fight for roads and bypasses in his area. I hope that he is encouraged that provision for several bypasses has been made in the draft regional transportation strategy. I am sure that he will argue in favour of his chosen case. I confirm that the Omagh division is responsible for all of Mid Ulster, as Members who deal with roads issues on behalf of their constituents will be aware.

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6.

asked the Minister for Regional Development what criteria were used in determining the areas to be included in traffic-calming pilot schemes such as Ballynafeigh and Bloomfield.

(AQO 942/01)

The initiative that was announced in April 2001 introduced trial partnerships aimed at progressing traffic-calming schemes more quickly, with the full involvement of local people.

The 10 sites that were selected for the initiative had already qualified to benefit from traffic-calming measures according to the Department's criteria. These are: the five-year history of road accidents resulting in personal injury; vehicle speeds; the volume of car and heavy goods vehicle traffic; environmental factors such as the presence of schools, playgrounds, hospitals, clinics, shops and public buildings; and the width of footways and the distance of the street from houses. Points are allocated in respect of each factor, and the 10 schemes that are included in the pilot exercise were identified as having a high priority.

The Ballynafeigh and Bloomfield sites scored highly on account of their accident histories and the relatively high volume and speed of traffic in those areas. Streets in both areas are used as rat runs by road users to avoid the main traffic routes such as the Ormeau Road in the Ballynafeigh area and the Bloomfield Road and Beersbridge Road in the Bloomfield area.

Has the Department carried out a cost- benefit analysis, or at least a comparative study of such traffic-calming measures in relation to other road safety methods?

The traffic-calming scheme is one of the most popular commodities on the Department's shelves at present. A massive number of requests for this type of traffic calming are being made, at a rapidly increasing rate. Therefore, despite the absence of a scientific analysis, the public obviously recognises that these measures reduce the speed of traffic, which benefits communities.

The pilot schemes were slightly different from standard traffic calming measures because they sought greater community involvement, which, it was hoped, would quicken the process. Community involvement has resulted in better schemes with greater public support, but it has not made progress more rapid.

In response to the Member, there are safety benefits, and, therefore, the schemes are a useful element of the Department's overall transportation policy. Other sections of departmental funding are directed at road safety, and the Department - as in all things - must balance the level of funds that it allocates for that purpose. Road safety funding was increased in this financial year from the previous year. In addition, under the draft regional transportation strategy, funding will increase substantially over the next 10 years.

Does the Minister agree that although traffic-calming measures are an option to deter the hoodlums responsible for the death of a young girl in west Belfast at the weekend, it is only strong action by the courts that will act as the main deterrent to those found guilty?

The hon Gentleman has put his finger on an aspect outside my Department's control in relation to road accidents and traffic calming. It is not the job of the Roads Service to attempt to resolve all these problems. There is a significant role for the road safety powers of the Department of the Environment. The courts can play a role with regard to the sentences that they impose. However, there is also an enforcement role for the police. In many cases, enforcement can be the greatest disincentive to people either speeding or driving recklessly.

Environment

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Question 8, in the name of Mr Eddie McGrady, has been withdrawn and will receive a written answer.

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1.

asked the Minister of the Environment what action he plans to take in relation to the Committee for the Environment's report on transport for children travelling to and from school.

(AQO 946/01)

As the Member will know from the debate on 19 February on school buses in which he participated, my predecessor, Sam Foster, provided the Committee with a composite reply, which outlined the actions proposed by, first, the Department of Education, secondly, the Department for Regional Development and, thirdly, the Department of the Environment. That reply was based on the 28 recommendations submitted by the Committee. I will arrange for the Member to receive a copy of that response.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Sam Foster for his work. I am glad to see him here, and I wish him well in his retirement. I reaffirm my personal commitment to what Sam Foster has done and to what I hope to do as regards my responsibilities. In particular, I wish to address the question of the reduction of deaths and serious injuries on the roads and build on the work that Sam Foster did.

The Committee's four main recommendations were: to abolish the "3 for 2" provision, where three children under the age of 14 sitting on a bus seat should be reduced to two, which is the position for adults; to ban standing on school buses; to require seat belts on all school buses; and to provide new hazard signage on school buses.

The response to the Committee confirmed that my Department will carry out a regulatory impact assessment of those recommendations and, importantly, a review of the costs and benefits of their implementation. This is a necessary prerequisite to any consideration of the significant financial resources that would be required to implement those recommendations.

In addition, my Department is considering, first, a way of raising awareness among drivers of the need for greater caution while overtaking vehicles where children are likely to be boarding or alighting. Secondly, in conjunction with the Department for Regional Development's safer routes to schools programme, and through the enhanced programme of schools visits by my Department's road safety education officers, we seek to develop a greater awareness among parents and children of the dangers encountered on roads while travelling to and from school.

I wish Sam Foster well, and I also wish the Minister well in his new portfolio. When will the Minister take this matter to the Executive to ensure a concentration of ministerial minds and, as he has outlined, joined-up thinking, not least in considering the extension of the safer routes to schools programme?

This is a serious matter. The Department will conduct those aspects that I have mentioned, and staff have been put in place to do that. It will take time, but it is better to get it right than to rush it. I do not wish to give a specific time frame in which recommendations will be presented to the Executive and the Assembly. The issue is important and sensitive because it deals with children. We must, therefore, give it our support and measured consideration before we make recommendations.

I congratulate Mr Nesbitt on his elevation, and I wish him every success. I thank him and other Members for their complimentary remarks.

Anyone who is killed or injured in a road collision is one person too many. However, does the Minister agree with Sammy Wilson's comments in the recent debate on school transport that buses are the safest form of transport for schoolchildren, and that that is borne out by the available data?

I agree with Mr Foster that one death is one too many. He points up statistics in his question, and it is important to bear statistics and their relevance in mind. I live in the real world, and I know that resources are finite. We must, therefore, deal with what is possible and what is not possible.

There is a good safety record for buses, coaches and minibuses. Statistics from April 1997 to March 2001 show that 130 people between the ages of four and 15 were killed or seriously injured going to or from school. That is a salient statistic. However, the statistics state that six of the children killed, and 93 of the children seriously injured, were pedestrians. One of those killed and 18 of those seriously injured were passengers in cars. None of the children killed and six of those seriously injured were passengers on buses. Statistics can be misleading, but those statistics clearly show that although there are too many deaths, the bus is the safest way to take children to and from school compared to walking or travelling by car.

I wish Mr Foster every happiness in his retirement from office. I would also like to express my appreciation of the manner in which he received me and my Colleagues on the Environment Committee when he was in office.

We too live in the real world. Does the Minister agree that legislation that permits 101 children to travel on a 53-seater bus is outdated? The Royal Ulster Constabulary, as it was known at the time, made a presentation to the Committee that stated that a tragedy was waiting to happen. That was the police summary, not the Committee summary. Although the Minister will not give Members a timetable, can he assure us that change will come about before the one hundredth anniversary of the legislation, which will probably be in 2028?

Dr McCrea has asked me to give an assurance that change will come about. However, this issue involves money. Translink and the education and library boards estimate that it would cost £180 million in capital expenditure and £60 million in annual running costs to do as he wishes. I am not saying that that should not be done, but there are trade-offs. The Administration has difficult choices to make, and those choices often involve money. The question is: where do we get the money to meet Dr McCrea's request?

My predecessor, Mr Foster, asked Dr McCrea two questions in December, and I ask them again. What did Dr McCrea's Committee consider, from the evidence that it has taken on the 101 passengers on the buses for example, would be the road safety benefits of spending the money that he wishes to be spent? If there is money available, should we spend it on measures to reduce the problems that he has raised, or should we put it into health or education? Mr Foster asked another question: if there is no money available, how can we do what the Member wishes?

That is your responsibility.

It is our collective responsibility in this Administration.

Order.

The decisions are not easy, and, as Mr Foster has said, one death is one too many. However, when we make decisions about doing things that the Committee has asked us to do, and which we consider seriously, we must also consider the allocation of financial resources. My final word on this is to ask the Committee to help us to answer the questions posed last December.

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2.

asked the Minister of the Environment what steps he is taking to address the current delay in planning applications.

(AQO 908/01)

My Department has taken several steps to address delays in dealing with planning applications. First, we obtained an additional £850,000 in 2000-01 and another £850,000 in 2001-02 to tackle the backlog of planning applications at that time. An additional 56 professional planning officers and 40 administrative staff have been recruited and trained. We are in the process of recruiting a further 67 professional and 28 administrative staff, and management structures have been strengthened. However, against that backcloth of more money and more professional and administrative staff, it is interesting to note that the number of applications received this financial year is likely to reach 24,500. Indeed, it may reach 26,000 in the coming financial year, and this compares starkly with the 15,000 applications received in 1995.

Secondly, a few weeks ago my Department published a consultation paper 'Modernising Planning Processes', which put forward ideas and options for promoting the operation of planning processes. It aims at producing a simpler, faster and more accessible process. I want to encourage everyone to contribute to the debate, which the paper seeks to stimulate, on how to improve our planning processes.

Thirdly, I assure Members of my absolute commitment to addressing the delays in the system by continuing the work that my predecessor, Mr Foster, began. I shall also continue to strengthen the Planning Service by endeavouring, where necessary, to get the resources to meet the demands placed upon it that the community expects it to meet.

Finally, I shall reform planning processes to ensure that we can deliver sustainable development and harness growth to build a better future.

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish the former Minister, Mr Foster, all the best in his retirement.

Is the Minister aware that since devolution the delays in the planning system have increased to the point that although there is a target to deal with 65% of major planning applications within eight weeks, only 53% are being dealt with in that period? In Belfast this year nearly one third of the social housing which it was planned to start by the end of March has not yet got planning permission and is unlikely to start in this financial year.

Will the Minister agree that if he wishes to make a name for himself, he must take the planning system by the scruff of the neck, get it moving and stop it gluing up economic development in Northern Ireland?

Is the Minister aware of two reports published by the Confederation of British Industry and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, in which scores of proposals have been put forward for improving the planning system? Is he prepared to introduce a system whereby developers who are prepared to invest extra resources to buy in expertise that the Department does not always have could pay that money to the Department in order to speed up the planning process?

I thank Mr Wilson for his lengthy, three- part question. It is a good baptism to be given a three- part question. His final question is interesting, and I will consider the proposal. However, I will not take any definitive position on it at present.

The Member refers to backlogs and to my making a name for myself. I thank the DUP for helping me to make a name for myself - I can see the pigs flying now. The aim was to reduce the backlog of applications. The backlog comprises applications that are two and a half months old. At the end of December 2001 there were 9,086 planning applications in the system, with a backlog of 4,047. Money saved has been used to put planning officials and administrative staff in place to reduce that backlog. From April 2000 to December 2001 it was reduced by 5%. Of course, more can be done. I am taking the planning issue seriously. One of the concerns of my constituents is getting planning applications passed.

However, there are tensions in the system. We want speedy decisions, but we also have public participation and openness in Government. Conflicts are not easily resolved. We want quantity, but also need quality. The business community wants quicker decisions, but we also have to protect the environment. These conflicts are part of the planning process, and they make the resolution of the problem difficult.

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