Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State should listen to me. In certain counties, councillors from all parties have been forced to vote on charges. They are too high in some counties but fair in others. They were introduced because the money provided to local authorities for infrastructure projects was cut. When I was first involved in local government, the average contribution from a local authority to infrastructure projects was 10% to 15%. The contribution at present is approximately 30%. The CEO of the IDA admitted this morning that the contributions affect business.

Insurance and telephone costs have decreased but these are outside Government control. The increase in Government controlled charges is a major problem which must be addressed. A process of real reform is needed to bring about value-for-money governance. In the past two years, 35% of all new jobs created in Ireland have been in the public service, yet I know of nobody who would say there has been a 35% improvement in its quality. On the contrary, we seem to be going backwards in a number of areas. Controlling the public sector is key to this but, given the pay awards given to the Cabinet, I am not convinced that will happen. The Government needs to instill a belief in service in the public sector. I do not believe, however, that every Minister will provide the leadership required in that regard.

The retail and planning guides are being reviewed in the UK by that country's Competition Commission. I hope the same does not happen here because the retail guidelines work very well and we do not want them changed. If anything, we need to do more to support small businesses in our towns, which might require giving more funding to local authorities to make our towns more accessible for work and shopping. Just because the UK decides to make changes, I hope we do not go down the same road because doing so would seriously affect our competitiveness without reducing inflation.

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