Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

To give one other example, 52 new local authority houses have been built and are about to be allocated. I know from my constituency work that many young people will be moving into the area with families, which we welcome. In a county that was ravaged by emigration in the past, I am particularly proud of the fact there has been huge growth in population in recent years throughout County Cavan, particularly in that area of the county.

With regard to the systems for projections now used by the Department, the geographical information system, GIS, has its strengths but there is one issue which the Minister and his officials would want to bear in mind. The GIS figures fail to take into account when a family moves from one location to another. The child benefit payment does not require a change of address so the GIS capacity and facility is only relevant if the bank details change. When I was a student in Dublin, I opened a bank account and I have not changed from that bank since. Most people do not change their banks because we never stand in a bank today-----

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