Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Can the Taoiseach indicate if the following rumour is correct, namely, that the policy of decentralisation will be abandoned at the budget and replaced by a policy of centralisation in the interest of economies of scale? The Taoiseach is essentially doing a U-turn on the policy he implemented during his term as Minister for Finance. Does the Taoiseach agree with the McCarthy report critique of his decentralisation programme and the waste of public money and lack of efficiency that resulted from it?

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