Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Was the Minister of State listening earlier when I was asking him to outline the reasons why the board has done this? The Minister of State said the ETB is an independent board and manages its own resources to provide the best service and so on. The Minister of State outlined that Tallaght and Walkinstown have certain positions. He also said that Balbriggan is a growing area and so on. I put it to the Minister of State that what the board is proposing, with the compliance of the Minister of State, allows for one place per 1,000 residents while Balbriggan gets double the amount that Tallaght gets. Does that make any sense?

Reference was made to saving money. Where are the savings? Will the Minister of State let me know where the savings will come from? All the Minister of State is throwing at me is that there is an independent board which has made a decision. I want to know why the board has made the decision. There is no logic to what the Minister of State has said today. I cannot go back to the people of Tallaght and state that the ETB is an independent board and has made its decision. On what grounds did the board make the decision? I do not know because the Minister of State has not told me and I am unsure whether the Minister of State knows himself.

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