John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The old practice in State agencies - I am thinking particularly of local authorities but it was seen in other aspects of public service - was that funding for roads, for example, was granted at the start of the year. Sometimes that would lead to spending later in the year to ensure that funding was not lost the following year. We all have some experience of those practices, as many of us are former members of local authorities. Has that method of doing business changed at local government and other levels? It is more than ten years since I have been a member of local government.