Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Briefly, in respect of the issue concerning the Valuation Office, this is an example of where central government does not always listen and this is something to which all Ministers must be in tune. This is even more the case for the permanent government, because anyone who is Minister must listen to his or her electorate and so on. As a result, Ministers receive representations whereas the permanent government can be quite removed from what life is like on the ground. There is a message for Members here.

See this speech in context