Dr. Eoin O'Malley:

I will just reiterate what I think all four of us have been saying throughout, which is that we think the committee and the Oireachtas as a whole should be ambitious about this and try to use it as an opportunity not just to help develop Limerick and the surrounding region but also to develop a new structure for local government that could work. Inevitably, some things will work and some will not, but it can be trialled in Limerick and we can see what mistakes might be made along the way and where there may be misallocations of resources. My suggestion, my advice and my hope is that the committee will be ambitious with this legislation and try to get from the Government as many more powers as it possibly can.