David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One CEO, whose name I will not mention, was very frustrated that announcements are being made by Ministers on housing developments at stage 1, when there is not even any planning permission. It is more about announcements than anything else. It is obviously frustrating. We had a discussion earlier on the communications unit set up by the Government and the blurring of lines between the Civil Service and politics. There is always a need to separate the two. If there are CEOs who are expressing the concern I have mentioned, albeit privately, it is an issue for them. It is not just an issue for them, but they see it as a problem. I am relaying this to Mr. McCarthy and asking him to examine it. I refer not only to that but also to the piecemeal way in which small grants are made available, especially for rural development schemes. A little money is made available here and there. It is great for a Minister or local Deputy to be able to announce such a grant. We can all be guilty of it. There is a culture in Irish politics that we should reconsider in terms of how we fund local authorities and how we provide them with grant aid.