Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is my honest intention. Rather than considering this matter piecemeal and reacting to whatever issue is more fashionable in any given week or day I intend to consider the entire issue. It would be helpful for the ordinary taxpayer to see what role these schemes play and to see their wider benefits.

Successive governments devised these schemes. They were changed and modified and they evolved through circumstances including judgments justified in their own way and time. A wider community benefit derives from these schemes. Too often, critics like to portray them in terms of being some sort of sop or concession to high earners. Their purpose is rather to gain a wider community benefit, which has taken place. Some schemes have worked very well and others not so well in instances where the level of architecture or integrated planning or whatever was not uniform. One could point to a great success in location A and one not so great in location B. We must learn what wider merits are involved in these schemes, their applicability and application in the years ahead, given that the economy is not progressing at full speed in every part of the country. We must learn lessons from the operation of these schemes so far, and considering the infrastructure deficits we have identified, see what can be done to assist parts of the country that might gain an overall benefit by the implementation of such incentivised schemes. That is the purpose of the review. It is not done simply to defer decisions. It is a question of getting matters right and it is far better to take what might be a valid criticism of not proceeding with the schemes now, or making any changes now. I am prepared to take that flak in the interests of coming forward next year, as Deputy Bruton suggested, with something that perhaps makes greater sense.

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