The Taoiseach:

I think Deputy Timmins's point is well made. In the olden days, before the dual mandate was abolished, there was an informal, de facto communication between Deputies and respective Ministers. I remember a wise former county manager saying to someone close to me that it was a mistake to get rid of the dual mandate because of the connection between councils and the Government. Invariably, there might have been four or five TDs in a city like Cork - maybe more - who were also councillors and who would lead deputations with county managers. The wise county manager - no matter who was in power, it did not really matter - would go and meet Ministers about the needs of the council, county or city. We lost some of that when the dual mandate was abolished. I do not see it coming back, but the Deputy's point about developing more effective mechanisms is valid.