Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When I visited these areas on my appointment as Minister I kept meeting people in suits. Under the RAPID structure, we established area implementation schemes in local housing estates and only people living in the relevant local authority housing estate could become community members of the schemes. This approach created a genuine local voice, as opposed to having people in authority doing what they usually do, namely, move or jiggle the money around. We used to meet members of the schemes every six months. This was the first time people from housing estates secured seats on these schemes which allowed them to determine what would happen in their local communities. I ask the Minister to engage on this issue as otherwise he will find that LCDCs, AITs and the well-heeled will manipulate the funding in a way that ensures it is not directed towards the coalface where we want it to be spent.