Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I respect the fact they are elected to the House and the people from their respective constituencies are entitled to make their choices; that is absolutely understood. However, the Taoiseach has a majority which includes the Fianna Fáil Party, the Minister for Health and Children and the Green Party, so he does not need to backed up by having public moneys extended to Independent Deputies. The national development programme contains 500 different projects from Malin down to Cork and from Donegal to Wexford and somewhere in between are bits and pieces for these Independent Deputies. The House has never seen these. The national development programme will not be implemented in the way it was written; it cannot be because that is no longer a realistic prospect. All I am asking the Taoiseach is whether these secret documents have been examined by the person from the Whip's office or is it some Fatima-like business that we can never find out whether these fit into the national development programme, whether they are going to be reprioritised outside the national development programme or are these Independent Deputies entitled to go back to their constituents and say, "I have a secret deal here, I cannot tell you about it but you will know when it happens"? This is ridiculous.

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