This scheme was fifth on the list of water and sewerage schemes submitted by Monaghan County Council in response to my Department's request to local authorities to undertake fresh assessments of the needs for capital works in their areas and to prioritise their proposals on the basis of the assessments. The priority lists were taken into account in the framing of the water services investment programme, 2000-02, announced last July. Given the priority afforded to the scheme by the council, the level of competing demand and the limited funding available, it was not possible to include the scheme in the programme at that time.