Mr. James Doyle:

In conclusion, today we have been discussing a local initiative in County Kerry even though the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, the IFA and GAA are national organisations. However, they have come together in Kerry and this initiative has application for the entire country. I am sure that most of what has been said today could be repeated all over the country and basically, our points are common to the entire country.

I will make one point on flooding in respect of the gravel. I was on a fishery board myself for a number of years and still have an association with the inland fisheries organisation. One major problem that did happen, was that big Hymacs went in and dug out the beds of the river, which of course is not acceptable to anyone. Much activity like that on the rivers has been stopped, I am sure Deputy Healy-Rae was not talking about that either but certainly sensible removal of gravel would contribute. However, the flooding issue is bigger than that.

The White Paper of 1999 did actually set out the desirability of setting up a rural forum. This joint committee would be well advised to inquire further into it, as it has a lot to offer. One point I might make to the clerk to the committee and the Chairman is that we would appreciate further development of what we are talking about, as well as further communication with us, to tease out this proposal further and ascertain whether there is merit in it. We firmly believe there is merit in our suggestions. We are not political in any way, other than in attempting to encourage the political system. I believe this is the way forward because we propose a bottom-up approach, a representation of what rural Ireland is about and the repository of knowledge, culture and way of life that exists in rural Ireland. We want to maintain and build on that and get support for so doing. In this context, we will be asking our Deputies to make representations and to work with us to achieve this rural forum. We have been highly impressed by Pat Spillane's work in the rural commission. It is very worthwhile and a lot of good work will come from it. However, to ensure the continuance of such good work, a forum will be needed.