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

I reiterate that the process is at an early stage and that nothing has been finalised. The current regional structure might have some resonance with the general public in the greater Dublin area but not in the southern region of the country which extends from County Wexford to County Clare.

Equally, however, there are three specific old former regions, the south east, the south west and the mid-west that are in that area and I envisage that rather than creating a new structure at that level that the management and the organisation of the regional authority would play the role of getting people to put their heads together, whether locking them together or tapping them together. We do not need to create a full new back office, but there must be some capability in the regional structure to act as the head knocker.