Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In terms of transparency and accountability it is clear what is going to happen. We are accountable for it as we are accountable here today, listening to everything Deputies have to say. It is like buying a house. When the Government came to office the foundations of the house were rotten and the house could not stand. The nation could not stand. The finances of this country were in an appalling and shameful mess. When the country was in hock the receivers came in and we have to deal with that issue, which is what we are doing now. Obviously, we will not satisfy everybody by what we do and I accept that. However, this is the only way we can deal with the financial situation. As I pointed out earlier, we are dealing with this on a year-to-year basis. In other words, what happened last year and what is happening this year are counted within a 12-month period. If we were not doing this how would we address the deficit in our budget, by which we spend €1 billion more per month than we take in? That is the problem we have. We must try to balance all of that and make difficult decisions. Some have been made and some are yet to be made, as in this instance. I accept this is a difficult decision but that is the reason for it. It is being made transparent and has been accounted for previously.

There is a very important link between local authorities and the Minister and the Department, which continues. Notwithstanding all the moneys that come in, €960 million will definitely be spent on and given to local authorities. A maximum of up to €150 million - last year the figure was €46.5 million - will go to the Exchequer. That has happened because we had no choice. It was what we had to do, what we did and what we are doing this year.