Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

This is entirely relevant. Opposition parties claim to be better than all others. This is probably the nature of politics because it is competitive. However, virtuous claims from Opposition Members that they never tried to claim anything do not stand up to any logical analysis.

At the end of this debate, Deputy Connolly came to the nub of the matter. The Deputy may be unhappy with the way the money has been disbursed and he may have a case because I confirm that most of Cavan and a significant portion of Monaghan are designated as CLÁR areas. I have no answerability for the board because it is independent. The Deputy can raise the question in the House as often as he likes but he will receive the same answer, namely, that decisions are made by an independent board and the Minister has no function in the matter.

However, when this Bill is passed the good news for Deputy Connolly is that the board will be accountable. If he ever feels the system is operating unfairly, aside from the Ombudsman and the other existing mechanisms, Deputy Connolly or any other Member may table a question in this House in regard to both methodology and decisions and he will be entitled to an answer from the Minister. I am sure the Deputy would be pleased if I were able to explain today the actions taken by the board. I cannot do so but once this legislation is enacted and the next round of decisions is made, he will be able to get an explanation if he considers the people of Cavan and Monaghan are afforded unfair treatment by those decisions. I will be delighted in such circumstances to explain to the House how and why the decisions were taken in regard to the disbursements of the board. I thank the Deputy for making my case far more eloquently than the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, and I have been able to do over the last 11 months.

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