Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This point is by way of a proposal to the committee here. Would IPB Insurance be willing to sit on and be part of a group including a representative from the county managers, as well as representatives of the partnerships, Tidy Towns associations and the groups mentioned, together with one or two members of our committee? Such a representative of the county managers would need to be - with no disrespect to anybody from Dublin, because a different system is used in Dublin - somebody who is au faitwith the arrangements down the country. Would the Chairman be prepared to work with such a group, including the different people here, and to write to the partnership bodies, to sit down and thrash out where it needs to be?

In fairness to what Deputy Ó Cuív said, if the Tús worker did the signage and lighting, the voluntary worker would do the work but we are left in a quagmire at the moment. Only paperwork is going over and back now to councils giving lists of construction and non-construction work. It will then be looked at by the partnership and if the non-construction work, which is cutting grass, is on the side of the road, then it will say signage and lighting are needed and signs must be erected. We are not making headway on this. We need be clear and precise and I would recommend, through the Chairman, that representatives from the Departments of Rural and Community Development and Employment and Social Protection should be on this group, if there is need for some funding. I note this also is within the remit of the Minister for Employment and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, who is responsible for Tús and, presumably, the rural social scheme, RSS, scheme as well.