Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Does Mr. Keatinge know how long is the Wild Atlantic Way? It is 2,500 km long and that only extends from Donegal to Cork. I have been at this rural development caper for 30 years and there always appears to be this belief, I do not know whether it emanates from Brussels, the Department or wherever, that one can do things really cheaply and get magnificent results in rural areas and that one needs all the billions in the cities for investment. It is just as expensive, if not more expensive, to do any significant development in rural areas and serious money is needed. While I really welcome the representation on the various committees, as regards €200,000 per year to be given out in County Galway, if one divides that among the ten regions in County Galway, one now is down at €20,000. The average GAA club in rural Ireland turns over approximately €100,000 per year and it must be put at that scale. Somebody must tell Brussels that this is an utter joke in money terms.