Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have taken the view, both with the Cork and Galway elements, that I defer to my party colleagues in those constituencies, and Deputy Ó Laoghaire led for us on the Cork end. I have been speaking at length with my colleagues in Galway city and county councils, who are very concerned, and I want to relay those concerns to the Minister of State and let him know where we stand. I am being given the impression there is not a great level of enthusiasm or even public engagement in Galway city or county for the merger proposition. Unlike Cork, where there was a lively and at times heated exchange which led to the majority view that has since emerged in the legislation, I am being given the impression that is not the case in the first instance in Galway. Notwithstanding the very strong recommendations of the expert group, the public engagement has been limited.

It is also clear there has not been the same level of political majority support for the proposition that was eventually hammered out in Cork. I appreciate these things are complicated and very difficult but, for example, nobody bar one Deputy came in here to express any fundamental objection to the Cork elements of this Bill, although some had concerns with the detail. I have met delegations of city and county councillors from Cork, as they met all of the housing spokespeople, and I have a sense of where they were at. Clearly, the situation in Galway is not at the same stage, and I want to put that on record. Given all of this, why is it that we have one element of the Galway merger in a Bill that is essentially about Cork, when there will be another Bill about Galway early next year? It would surely have been better to have it all in the one Bill after reaching at least some degree of majority view of the elected members of those constituencies. I do not understand the timing and sequencing.

As the Minister of State said, the issue of finances is central, and the Galway members will be speaking on this at greater length. If the finances are crucial and if they have not been resolved, it adds even further to the question of why we should be pressing ahead with the Galway element now. As somebody who is neutral on this, given it is up to the good people of Galway to decide how these things should run, I do not understand it. Unless the Minister of State gives me very good answers to those questions, I am left in the position of saying this needs to be taken out of the Bill at this stage. That does not mean I am opposed to or in favour of the merger, but that it would be better to deal with it in a comprehensive Bill. Otherwise, it gives the impression that it is notwithstanding public disinterest - the Galway Deputies can correct me if I am wrong on that - and political concern in the Opposition that we are pressing ahead with this. As a Deputy from outside the city and county of Galway who does not know the detail, that is not something I could support at this stage.