Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a broader point – I will conclude on this – on the concept of having a credit policy drafted by the Department to be implemented by 31 different local authorities, 31 different housing officers and all the staff under them. All those involved have varying levels of training on how to process applications. Some counties have small numbers while others have big numbers. The expertise within the local authorities cannot be consistent throughout the country, almost by definition. I am not calling for the administration to be centralised but we are guaranteed inconsistency in the delivery of the scheme if it is being farmed out to 31 local authorities. We all know it. The staff who are administering the scheme were probably in the motor tax office last year, in the planning department the year before and in water services the year before that. They may not have spent time in the housing or finance department, as the case may be. We do not necessarily have people with financial competence in the area of granting loans or dealing with applications in the various local authorities. Consistency is another issue. I am sorry but committee members can see that I am annoyed by this. This is my fourth attempt to see the document.