Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

For example, two housing estates in Celbridge, County Kildare, are divided by a public road. One estate has a residents' association to which the annual voluntary contribution is €100. That estate is maintained by the residents to a high standard and they use contractors to cut grass and do other work for them. The other estate is maintained by a management company and the annual charge is €1,000 but the estate's management is not as good as the other estate. However, this estate comprises 400 houses which yield €400,000 per annum to the management company. The only work done by the management company is the cutting of grass in the green areas. One would cut a great deal of grass for €400,000 per annum. The company is controlled entirely by the developer and I wonder what happens to the balance of the money when he has cut the grass.

See this speech in context