John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

In regard to the budget, again, because of his power to direct, the mayor can greatly influence the €1.3 billion annual budget. I do not see where the Deputy's difficulty lies.

Of course, there is one issue on which we can perhaps have a debate, namely, local government funding. The Fine Gael party leader was asked a few weeks ago what his position was on water charges. He did not have a position.

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