Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

No I did not - and Brittas. I am listening to what people are saying and am particularly interested in what Members are telling me about the difference, as they see it, between life in an urban area - where there is easy access to public transport or one can walk home without difficulty - and that in rural Ireland. I do not know a great deal about rural communities apart from the one in Bohernabreena. I could not expect Deputies from the depths of the country, for example Wexford, Clare, Carlow, Kilkenny or Kildare to understand that I do not have any expertise in matters that affect these counties. I appreciate what colleagues are saying, however, as regards matters being very difficult for people in rural communities. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows that I visit Wexford on occasion as my sister has a property in Ballygarrett, a nice place. I recall meeting a man there early one morning and telling him that I had come down for a rest, and to hide. He replied that I would not be doing that there since half of the people of Tallaght were down on the beach.

As a Dublin person who gets lost when he lives in Tallaght, I am cognisant of the challenges rural people have as far as this legislation is concerned, from my occasional visits to Wexford. Different colleagues have articulated the position and although I did not hear all of Deputy Mattie McGrath's speech, I suspect he covered that, which is fair enough.

See this speech in context