Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I spoke yesterday about Leader groups. My worry for Forum Connemara is that it has been good and a success. What happened to West Cork Development Partnership? It was a success and delivered. It was kicked out the door after 20 years. The mindset of the Government and the previous one involved getting rid of good community partnerships. I am very angry about that. Forum Connemara has delivered a bottom-up approach, which is a great credit to it. In respect of what it can do to help the development of rural Ireland, it made a point about the tax code, for example, that one job in Connemara is probably equivalent to ten jobs in Dublin. Will representatives from Forum Connemara explain that because it is interesting? I know it has delivered for Connemara in a very fair and honest way. The situation is very passionate. Leader groups are being ripped apart completely incorrectly and taken over by politics, which is wrong. My voice is very strong on that.