Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am always concerned when, among the first lines of a statement, there are "no plans" to do something. That is usually code that there are plans and, ultimately, that abolition will take place. It seems the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly's proposal is to do it by stealth, by moving responsibility gradually away from central Government and putting it in the hands of the local authority. It seems the Government now believes local authorities have the capacity to do all sorts of things, such as deliver transport systems where they have no experience or carry out development work through the Leader companies the Government wants to bring into the local authorities. At the same time, the Government is transferring out functions like the delivery of water systems, which the local authorities have been doing from the very start.

I do not understand the overall strategy the Minister of State is seeking to implement, other than to say I believe it is a proposal that will lead in the long run to a reduced service. It will lead to reduced involvement by the voluntary, charitable and philanthropic sectors, which will also contribute to a diminution of the service. Given the €280,000 it cost to deliver the suite of services I identified, in particular for the area I am most familiar with, I fail to see how any restructuring will be able to deliver the same amount for less money. There is a serious hole in what the Minister of State is telling us.

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