Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

To be clear, Deputy Gilmore made a point about the OECD report and I refer to the interpretation he places on it. The OECD has not criticised the decentralisation policy nor has it said it is a bad idea. It said that if it is not properly implemented, if it is not carried out in a planned way, there could be the prospect of fragmentation. I wish to be clear from the point of view of our experience. Decentralisation has worked in this country. The Deputy will know of many examples of where it has worked and it has all worked. I know there was a time when Fine Gael and the Labour Party decided to call a halt to the decentralisation programme before Deputy Gilmore was a member of the Labour Party, but it was proved to be a wrong decision.

The OECD has sounded a note of caution——

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