Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

That is right. It appears today I am meant to be the whole Government wrapped in one, but I will let that pass. It was a good try.

The Deputy is absolutely right. He and I have long agreed that the simpler the money trail from central Government and the more flexibility there is on the ground, the better the service. In all the changes we have made in terms, for example, of the cohesion process, that is exactly what we are talking about. Let us keep the bureaucracy slim and the frontline services strong. Certainly, in all the discussions that have taken place, I have emphasised that. Take the CLÁR programme, for example, and the rural social scheme, I am trying to simplify the community services programme and make it more streamlined. I cannot understand why the rural social scheme has a much slimmer bureaucracy attached to it than the community services programme. I discussed that with the officials and have asked why, if one scheme can be administered for 2,500 people, with large overheads, the other scheme cannot be administered for an equivalent number of people. I agree with the Deputy. That is something I have certainly been working on, and I will continue to do. I know I will have his support in trying to deliver moneys in the simplest manner possible to local groups.

If we take a scheme such as the community service programme, that was not specifically set up for older people but for any service the community decided it needed, and often that is the best way to proceed. In that way, the service for older people is often provided, even though the scheme is not exclusively set up for that purpose. We often provide walkways and so on. Too often we are over-prescriptive in centralising schemes rather than allowing communities to make use of particular aspects of programmes for their members, as required.

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