Vol. 533 No. 2
47 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the total number of contracts which are currently being held up in the 661 committee of the Security Council of the United Nations; the value of such contracts; the number of contracts; and their value in the areas of health, primary education, higher education, environment, water and energy. [8390/01]
According to latest information available from the United Nations there are currently a total of 1,662 contracts on hold. The total value of these is approximately US$3.3 billion, US$1.5 billion of which is accounted for by the failure of Iraq and contracted suppliers to provide timely and rou tine technical information to the UN sanctions committee.
In the categories identified in the Deputy's question the figures are as follows. In the health sector, 163 contracts are on hold with a total value of US$280 million; the number of contracts on hold in the education sector is 95 and their total value is US$115 million. The figures available do not differentiate between primary and higher education; 48 contracts with a value of US$85.5 million are on hold in the environment sector. With regard to water, 105 contracts with a value of US$315 million are on hold. Finally, in the area of energy, 240 contracts are on hold. The total value of these contracts is US$791 million.
