Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy asked where the authority lay and I gave a straight answer. When the Deputy reads the full reply, she will see that the matter of how this issue could be managed best was considered in some detail during recent discussions between this Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and it was clear it was managed best at local authority level. It is not simply a matter of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government providing extra money for local authorities. We all have priorities and if one had all the money in the world, one could probably spend it. Like each Department, each local authority must decide what way the resources available will be used. I agree with those local authorities which have decided a waiver scheme is warranted and to implement one as a priority. It is an issue and other local authorities should step up to the plate and take a more serious view of the needs of their constituents. If this were done, it may lead to other issues in which we might be able to become involved.

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