Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Some Deputies are very concerned because an election is coming up next year. As Senator McDowell said, no decision will be made because the Government is afraid of the electorate, it will hang on until the election and when there is a change of Government, which there probably will be, it will have to grasp that nettle. That suits the present Government. That is fine.

With regard to regional development and regional services I commend RTÉ's regional representatives, such as Ciaran Mullooly and others who represent the midlands and north west. They do a great service. Recently, when it came to an issue in my county, which was the closure of Cuisle Accessible Holiday and Respite Care Resort run by the Irish Wheelchair Association, only for the regional representatives it would not have got coverage. In fact, I must say it is worth checking whether censorship was operated on "Claire Byrne Live", "Drivetime" and all of the platforms. Not one of the stations gave any recognition to the depth of anger about a national service being closed down without consultation. I was disappointed, although not with the regional representatives. Claire Byrne was going to feature the story but all of sudden it was gone.