Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I accept the points made by the Deputy. On the issue of rules, conditions or standards being applied differently, while I am sure the Minister wants rules to be applied uniformly in as far as this can be achieved, an element of flexibility is needed in all publicly funded schemes. It is important to acknowledge the need to have regard to the fundamental objectives of schemes, even as they evolve over the years. No one disagrees with the Deputy's comment on the need to value the community gain that arises from many of these schemes.

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