Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I have a note of that. I have been down the road on this a few times before with Deputy Cowen. There is no robbery going on here. The €59 million, which was estimated to rise, is in the local government fund, as the Deputy knows. If this change had not been made, a global valuation would have been made, similar to other utilities. Certainly, the estimated rates bill would not have risen above €59 million. Therefore, we were quite happy with the €59 million and believe it is accurate.

Deputy Cowen asked in regard to the group water schemes. I had a very good meeting in Galway with representatives of the group water schemes and they had very few issues. I would make one point. We have a combination of various political representatives here. These people supplied water throughout the country at their own cost for years, which should be acknowledged. They have paid for water for decades. I will certainly support them in whatever way I can because they deserve to be supported for the efforts they have made throughout many parts of Ireland where it is very difficult to provide water.

As regards new group schemes, the grant increase in 2014 is to €7,475 per house and they will continue to be part of the rural programme. We will announce the allocations shortly. The reductions in subsidy were agreed with the national federation. When I met the representatives in Galway, we spoke at length on a number of issues. The only request they had was that they wanted a multi-annual framework. I have agreed to that because I recognise the work they do and want to ensure they are able to plan ahead. I believe Deputies across the House will welcome the fact I made that decision.

Deputy Cowen's next question related to SICAP, the social and community activation programme. That has been announced and the groups have been told. As the Deputy will be aware, there is a two-week cooling-off period so people can decide if they want to do something or question the process in one way or another. Outside of that, I simply make the point that those groups have been notified.

I committed to dealing with a number of issues that were outstanding and which everyone in this room knew about. As part of the process, there were specific issues in regard to women's networks, the islands and Traveller groups, and there were other smaller issues. I am confident that, across governmental processes, we will be able to deal with all of them.

The Deputy asked about employment rights. That is a matter for each organisation, not for me. However, I would expect the allocations given and the way in which we have managed this would, by and large, maintain jobs if not create jobs in some cases. The ins and outs of every individual company is their own business and neither the Deputy nor I can get involved in that. They are the entities in their own way.

I am not sure if the Deputy asked a question about the Leader programme. If not, I will move to the next set of questions.