Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is one of the biggest concerns. Leader money is a major issue, particularly where it has moved slowly. On that side, applications going into local development companies have declined because of the requirement for matching funding from the promoter of the business. The lack of any such funding, which also relates to the banks not releasing credit, is now slowing down the Leader programme. As a result some of the Leader funding that was meant for job creation is being reallocated by Leader groups for community and recreational facilities. Every playground being built in the State is being substantially funded by the Leader programme. The programme probably intended to spend a percentage of the budget on that area, which is unrelated to economic development, but the amount has been increased because business applications are falling away. Will the proposal to transfer Leader companies into local authorities have even more of an impact? Staff are worried the Leader companies will go in under the ring-fenced heading but when they move in three or four years' time, they will be subsumed. People are afraid that ultimately the money will form part of the local authority budget and Leader programme funding will end up being used to fill potholes. The Minister might say that will not happen but that is what people fear.

Going back to Irish Water and water sewerage, must local authorities make a contribution to the cost through development levies? The local authorities had to make an economic case, saying how many people would be served by a new facility and the cost per household. Sometimes financing from development levies was necessary. I can understand the local authority that has a kitty of development levy money will not want to spend it and then see it taken away by Irish Water. There must be some recompense and I know agreements are being made between Irish Water and the local authorities. The new water supply and reservoir in County Laois was built entirely with development levy money and serves thousands of people. Those development levies were collected locally and are now being effectively sequestered by Irish Water.