Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That press release and briefing failed to take cognisance of the huge knock-on effect of those who work in the administration of these companies, their efforts and their work in bringing volunteers together. If one took the entire sum of the activity of the paid and the voluntary together, it would be minuscule by comparison to the way in which other entities of State operate based on output and return. It was a low point by the Government in an effort to undermine the work that was done to put it down to cost and present some of the figures without really recognising the immense amount of work that is done.

I am aware at first hand of the work that the Clare Local Development Company does and the voluntary effort that is put in by so many and I can tell the Minister without fear of contradiction that the costs are minuscule by comparison to the voluntary effort that is energised as a result of these professionals working in their community. In County Clare alone, in the past five years 722 enterprises have been supported, 517 jobs have been created, 1,657 persons have been trained and 119 communities have been supported. That is a significant body of vitally important work that cannot be done by any other State organisation.

Deputy Bannon makes an impassioned plea to the Taoiseach, who is a rural man and needs to recognise that rural communities need support. Deputy Bannon is correct; they do. Step by step, rural communities are being eroded by the policies being implemented by the Government. If Deputy Bannon is true to his word and true to what he stated here today, which will be for transmission to his local community, he should have the confidence of his conviction, walk through the lobbies with us today and send a message to the Minister and the Taoiseach that he is not prepared to see his community isolated in the way that will result from this decision. Then Deputy Bannon will be standing up for his community. Then his words will not be hollow. They will not be meaningless. However, if Deputy Bannon expects to be reported on local radio or in his local newspaper tomorrow as having made a great stand for his local community and he still votes the Government amendment through, that is farcical.

See this speech in context