Mr. Richard Shakespeare:

I echo what Ms Farrelly said. You cannot govern if you cannot raise taxes. I think that is universally recognised.

On the functions and staffing, much of it depends on what functions are actually taken on. What if all of the functions proposed are taken? As previous speakers said, are we the employer or not? Will there nominally be regionalised structures in An Garda Síochána or whatever other agency, such as the NTA, where the Dublin transportation office could be reinstated?

The money needs to follow the people and the function. There is no point in transferring a load of functions when somebody else is controlling the purse strings.