Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I agree with Deputy Wall. It was the job of the Minister and his departmental officials to defend the Department. Instead of that, the McCarthy report and the Department of Finance have stated that they could not get information from his Department. He could not tell them the cost per job in Gaeltacht areas. He could not even inform them of the number of staff in Údarás na Gaeltachta. It is here in a letter from the Department of Finance. We need life in rural Ireland. The Minister and his Department are creating a problem for us because the McCarthy report states that there is duplication. There is certainly duplication. We have so many agencies in the Gaeltacht and elsewhere doing the same job. That is where the problem lies. It is an industry in itself. I go down to Erris where there are many agencies. The Minister promised a one-stop shop, but it never happened. We need a one-stop shop in Gaeltacht and rural areas so that people can be dealt with there, whether it concerns Údarás na Gaeltachta, employment, social welfare or whatever. Instead of that we have a clutter of organisations. We need to clean up this situation fast.

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