Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is not a point of order. It is rubbish and balderdash and the people of Tipperary know that. We have lost Kickham Barracks, our mental hospital, our Garda stations and all our county councils and the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, is sitting in for the Minister, Deputy Hogan, who is fleeing to Europe, using bully-boy tactics and denying the people of Tipperary all the communities projects which were developed and supported by the Leader companies.

He did not attend the public meetings he was asked to in Nenagh or Clonmel to listen to the people, but he cannot hide all the time. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, is fleeing the country. The hiding ground for the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, is very scarce unless he goes into the mountains in Duhallow or up to Hollyford and escapes. What is happening is the devastation of rural communities. Did one ever hear such bunkum as getting private companies to tender to do voluntary work in communities? Private companies are driven by profit, and rightly so. We need them as well. There is a place for them but not in community development.

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