Mr. Des Dowling:

Yes, Deputy. I know it is a matter of considerable concern, Waterford being the oldest city in the country there is a concern to ensure that status is not lost but it must and can be done within the context of a single authority.

Clearly, it will be a matter for the implementation group to recommend what the city and metropolitan area will involve. None the less, we foresee no difficulty in preserving the identity of Waterford city. That is also the case in Limerick where, obviously, this has been an important point from an historical perspective. There has been nothing so far in the proceedings and work to date that would suggest it is not possible to do what is proposed. We would still have to work out the precise formula in the legislation. We have never foreseen any difficulty with this. However, there is probably an adjustment whereby people can say there is a difference between the local authority for the county as a whole embracing city and county, as we note at present, and the embracing of the city identity within that. As part of the overall construct of the civil district, one could see that one of the categories would be characterised as Waterford city. I imagine the same would apply to Limerick.