John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I have been reading the highly interesting document on local government that Deputy Hogan published today on the Internet. However, the Government must abide by what has been set down in the Stability and Growth Pact under the Maastricht treaty. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland has received considerable latitude from Brussels in respect of exceeding the 3% limit, and we have gone far beyond it. However, we must abide by the pact and those criteria are set down both by Brussels and subsequently by the Department of Finance.

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