Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

When Government establishes a regulatory regime and regulators the last thing it should do is interfere, intervene or try to undermine them. The idea behind developing a liberal and competitive market is that it should be regulated independently of Government. It is facile and over-simplistic of the Deputy to label all sectors as filtering back to Government through local authorities and regulators etc. The Deputy's party gained extra seats in the last local elections and, along with other Opposition parties, has control of local authorities.

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