Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This would have been an issue ten years ago when local authorities were directly involved in the collection of waste, but things have changed quite dramatically in that time.

I want to go on to the local government area and deal specifically with two issues. One is the model. There was a reference in the statement by the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to the household charge as a "pathfinder" in the context of the local property tax. It was a good word and I must dig that out and use it again. It is an ingenious use of language on the property tax.

I am interested in finding out about the methodology for the allocation - if I am correct, it is 65:35 this year and 80:20 from next year. The needs and resources model has been traditionally used. Essentially, I make an argument that this works against developing areas, in that their needs are not established as the population grows - they become established over time - and the resources are not there to meet the needs. I am curious as to what methodology will be used to ensure there is an equitable distribution of the money that goes into the equalisation fund.

On a smaller point, in regard to the €6.3 million that is going to the local authority archives service, it seems there is a very fragmented approach to the storage of a very valuable archive. Has consideration been given to a regionalised approach or is some of that happening already? There may well be duplication and some benefit might be gained from doing it in a more collective way. There is very valuable information in those archives and we have to be very careful to maintain them in good condition.

My final point relates to the planning tribunal. Is there an estimate of the residual planning tribunal cost that is still to come? An amount of money is included in the Estimate but to what does this relate?