Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I do not see any sense in that. The relevant Leader company administers it everywhere else. The Gaeltacht is different. It is the only part of the country with an elected statutory authority. I said quite clearly in a previous reply that I intend to give Údarás na Gaeltachta wide powers in the Gaeltacht. It is intended that the saoistí, or supervisors, and the oibritheoirí, or workers, on the rural social scheme will transfer lock, stock and barrel to the Údarás na Gaeltachta schemes. Údarás na Gaeltachta already operates the community employment schemes in the Gaeltacht. I am proposing that a single body will run the community employment scheme and the rural social scheme in the Gaeltacht. I believe that would represent a coherent way of doing the job.

I would like to focus briefly on employment. The administration of money is the only issue at stake. Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta will get €97,000 in administration funds this year. Údarás na Gaeltachta will get €92,000 this year for administering the scheme on behalf of the Department. If the scheme transfers over, we would obviously hope to make a little bit of a saving. Most of the money will transfer to Údarás na Gaeltachta to fund the administration of the scheme. That is what will happen. I have heard suggestions to the effect that 60 people will lose their jobs. If somebody can employ 60 people for €97,000 a year, good luck to them. I wish they would explain to me how it can be done. When I returned to my office in Dublin on Sunday — I happened to be in Dublin, so I came in to do a few hours of work — there was an e-mail waiting for me. The e-mail, which argued that I would be absolutely right to give total responsibility for this scheme across the Gaeltacht to Údarás na Gaeltachta, came from the south of the country.

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