Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)

Many of us went back to the Minister and told her that there needed to be material funding provided to the CE schemes for them to provide their essential services. The measure announced in the Minister's statement shows a level of flexibility and compassion towards CE schemes and now all CE schemes will be entitled to a grant for materials of up to €1,000. However, they must make an application for this funding.

I am not happy with the provision for training. I acknowledge that it costs €52 billion to run the country and we are only taking in €34 billion. Things do not stack up and everything will need to be reduced until the deficit is addressed. However, there are smarter ways of doing things. I suggest a grouping of the insurance and the auditing capacities of the CE schemes as this would result in savings. I refer to the sharing of services. There has to be a better way of doing things and any fat, if it exists, needs to be taken out. The CE schemes are an essential part of community life. They provide services such as meals on wheels, community-based drug rehabilitation, tidy towns committees and project and marketing development.

This is a very difficult time to be in Government and we do not want to be making these cuts. I know that the next budget will also contain some unpalatable cuts but now is not the time to let go of the wheel. We are in the eye of the storm and we must come out the other side. We are asking people to come with us rather than go against us. We do not need to have a rural versus city divide nor a public service versus private sector divide. The review process will find a smart solution. For instance, there are FÁS buildings lying empty around the country and perhaps training could be provided in those locations by FÁS rather than paying for private contractors. There are instances in my county where the training funding has not been utilised to its maximum. The reduction of €500 is not across the board. The review process should happen before the cuts are imposed. It is unfair for a Minister to have to implement measures over which she has no control but she has taken 700 people into her Department.

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