Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It is difficult to give an absolute deadline. The Deputy would not like me to run off and roll it out before the new structures are in place and the companies are ready. I am ready if they are ready, but I do not think they are quite ready yet. In the Deputy's county they are coming close to being ready at last. I have said many times that we need to get on with the job and allocate the funds. The only good thing is that the funds are available. Even if we lose a month or two at the beginning, it will still be €425.4 million in the end. That is one consolation. I have tried to be as patient as possible because I understand the changes that are taking place. I have stirred a few hornets' nests, perhaps, where people had got into comfortable positions. People are familiar with what they know.

On the matter of the number of companies, once this process is over, that is it. We have no intention of going any further. In the Deputy's county it is a question of having either two or three companies. My gut feeling would be that two is better. It is a big county, so one would not be enough. I sometimes look over the border into County Mayo and think it is a fine county but I am not sure I would like to represent it in the Dáil because it is colossal, extending from the border at Headford to the far end at Fód Dubh. However, those involved in Mayo wanted three companies and I felt I would bow to local wishes if that was what they really wanted, so I went along with it. I do not intend to get caught between two and three. I also mentioned that one Leader company wrote to the European Commission and raised the issues. The Commission wrote to us and we replied. We are satisfied that we are within the regulation. The Commission wrote back to the Leader company, which has the opportunity to reply to our reply. It would be very unfair of me, to put it mildly, if I did not give it every opportunity to state its case if it thinks it has one. I will do my best to deal with the issues it raised and issues the EU might raise. I am confident the EU believes we are totally within the regulation.

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