Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is the people that we represent. Some people who were employed by the State as servants of the State in Sligo made mistakes in the past during the boom that happened in this country but to talk about money that was won or lost is like talking about the rain that fell last week. It is over, it is gone. We need to look at the new situation and move things forward. I fully accept that the Minister has met with people and that he is trying to sort out the situation but the truth is that the plan that was put in place simply does not work and cannot work for the people of Sligo. It is a serious problem if people in any regional town in the country do not have access to a library service or when those who are on a waiting list for a housing grant cannot even get it processed never mind get the grant money paid because of the absence of staff in the local authority. That is a problem not just for Sligo but for the country. We represent everyone in the country in this House. If this country is about anything it should be about ensuring that people get a proper and adequate service.

I again appeal to the Minister to sit down, not to talk about individual parts of the plan that was put in place that might be running into difficulty, but to look at the plan in its entirety and recognise that it is simply unworkable. Regardless of whether the plan was agreed in good faith in the past or if people have different views on how it came about, the reality is that it does not and will not work for the people of Sligo and the Minister must sit down with the elected representatives of the area, redo the plan and come up with a new scenario that will work.

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