Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

The Minister of State, Deputy Curran, said that members of the Department met with the committee that published the McCarthy report, but that no Minister or Minister of State from the Department did so. Was any documentation presented at those meetings? If so, is that information available to spokespersons from the Opposition? In all the documentation I have seen, it seems we have put forward a very poor defence of these schemes.

For the €100 million that the McCarthy report claims was spent on CLÁR, how many employment opportunities were created from that spending? Over what period were they created and in what areas were they created? If we are to take it that meetings took place and we are to look at the McCarthy report as published, it would seem as if the defence of these schemes was meek and timid, to say the least. How can we rectify that matter? Were papers exchanged? Can the Minister give us some detail on the benefits to rural communities by the investment of €100 million?

See this speech in context