Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

No, not at the moment, a Cheann Comhairle, in deference to yourself.

There has been significant downsizing in the local authority sector and there have been huge efficiencies. My own local authority published, in last week's local paper, The Wexford People , a two-page analysis of significant efficiencies it has brought about to give better services to people. It is not all about cutting or reducing the quality of service. Things can be done better when we look at them fundamentally.

I do not look at this from an ideological perspective. I do not think everything done by the public service is better than everything done by the private sector, or vice versa. There are things that are performed best by the public sector and things that are performed best by the private sector. We have to make a rational discernment about these things and not be clouded, one way or the other, by an ideological perspective.

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