Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, the Ministers of State and their officials for their attendance this afternoon. On the local government section, will each new municipal district have the opportunity to strike its own rate at its own level? In the past, authorities would have struck the rate but some councillors have suggested that flexibility be provided for start-up businesses in particular, perhaps in the retail sector. One might start off with 10% of the rate in the first year, perhaps rising to 30% of the rate in the second year and so on, until reaching 100% by year four or year five. Will such flexibility be included? If so, it will be welcomed by many of the new municipal districts, which will be welcoming the additional powers under the legislation.

In respect of water services and wastewater, I welcome the establishment of Irish Water and have listened with interest to some of the comments. It is greatly welcome that it will be amenable to freedom of information requests. It also is welcome that since the presentation last week and the presentations by the Ministers and Department, there is clarity on the source of the funding and on what it is being spent. Irish Water has been clear in that regard. I also note the negative commentary in respect of consultants and contractors. When one considers the companies that have been asked to provide the processes and systems, the list includes IT specialists and architects. I make the observation that one is talking about young people working in those companies and it does them no favours to be disparaging about the work they are doing.

In addition, political footballs have been kicked around at this meeting for the past hour or so and it is only right that I pick it up and kick it back. It is welcome to hear Fianna Fáil members talk about their concerns regarding spending. However, I remind them of the messes they left behind. I think of one in particular that pertains to the environment, namely, electronic voting machines, and I note that at least one company in County Offaly benefitted from dismantling them. That project certainly gave no value for the taxpayer. However, I feel strongly about the companies involved and some of the young people working therein. It is not right to be so disparaging about the work they are doing on behalf of Irish Water. While it is absolutely clear that it is very important to get value for the taxpayers' money, the testimony the witnesses gave last week from Bord Gáis makes clear the amount of savings it has been possible to put in place for the taxpayer, based on existing services, such as software contracts and so on, which I greatly welcome. Every effort should be made to ensure a smooth transition from the local authorities because they contain great expertise in this regard.

On the community and rural development aspect of the Estimate, I greatly welcome the funding that has been provided. On the transitional arrangements to be put in place under the new local community development committees, what does the Minister hope to do for this year in order to have it up and running by January 2015? Coming from the midlands and a rural area, I note these Leader and community development schemes have been really critical to capacity building in these areas. It will be of critical importance to continue with such capacity-building activities, particularly now when opportunities are to be put in place for retraining and to continue with such schemes. I greatly welcome this development and seek information on the transitional arrangements.

I will turn to the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and the unfinished estates. I have been following this issue with great interest even though County Offaly does not have a huge number of such estates, although there are some. I must note the work that has been done in this regard has been really exceptional.

It is a very good news story. That site resolution fund is being put to great use across the country and I am very glad it will continue to be put in place. People in the local authority are identifying the areas that need to be prioritised and that is working very well. I very much welcome that and hope it will be ongoing until all these are resolved because it is a major problem.

I am very concerned about homelessness. It is not as big an issue in the midlands as in other counties and I take Deputy Catherine Murphy's points on board. However the Simon Communities in Ireland do outstanding work in this area and they are experts in their field. I would be most concerned if I thought there would be any reduction in their funding. They run it all on a shoestring and they have a huge voluntary capacity. I would like some clarity on their funding.