Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is correct. Fair play to him. Tipperary also touches it. There are a lot of people on the periphery who are concerned. Near Creggs, the guys who go along cutting the hedge will not cut it on the right-hand side for about 100 yards because it is in Roscommon. It worries people because they think if there is a merger of city and council they will be forgotten about completely.

We must ensure that the municipal districts get the funding they need. It must be ring-fenced. It must not be a mere promise or they will not buy into the process. Deputy Ó Cuív outlined Fianna Fáil's position. The Minister of State is a reasonable person, but promises are not enough. The money must be given before anything happens. Promises will no longer work because there is a genuine fear. Galway is unusual because it has several islands. I am no expert on the islands because I am from the other side of Galway. As was pointed out earlier, Údarás na Gaeltachta has its headquarters in the county. These are the concerns. There are a few large towns, such as Ballinasloe, that need investment.

My area was affected by the redrawing of the boundaries. We were looking to the west but we will now look to the south. It is a totally new area. In fairness, the redrawing may be suitable and a good decision for the Deputies in Galway or Roscommon to cover the area. However, some of the councillors in the area are being put into a corner whereby they will be unable to get a couple of hundred votes because of the way it has worked out. That is a major problem.

Galway County Council does not have the staff to put contracts out to tender. The staff has been decimated over the years. I know every council got some staff but Galway got more than any of them. I do not know if it was because of people retiring or what, but the result is that it struggles to have enough staff, even in the municipal districts, to do up contracts even if they were to be subbed out. To be brutally honest, I do not believe in wasting money or in having two or three people running something together that could be run by one. I am not in favour of that. If there is one good person, that is fine. Shared services are important to ensure that we operate as efficiently as possible.

I am not au faitwith much of this but my understanding is that there are problems with the mayorship of Galway and other places where councils have been amalgamated. Galway is unique because it is a city of heritage. It is the place to go in the west of Ireland if one is a tourist. Based on previous mergers, there does not seem to be a cohesive way of solving this mayoral issue because people always bicker about it, which is one thing that needs ironing out. I ask the Minister of State to meet the officials but I warn him that a great deal of money will be required in order to solve the problems. He needs to be able to compromise on matters for the sake of all the Deputies and elected representatives in the area.

I made a submission to the so-called experts. There are experts for everything nowadays. As Deputy Ó Cuív pointed out, however, it is us who must go out and listen to people's views. We are Deputies and we are elected to be messengers of the people. While it might be acceptable for experts to consider A, B or C, we must try to cover every angle. There is much talk about income, rates and so on but, given Galway's size, much of it could be considered to be on the periphery of the county. People in those areas are worried that they will be mobbed by the city and they will not matter. It is comparable to Dublin and the rest of the country, but it will happen on a local level. These issues need to be addressed.

If an agreement is made in Cork, I do not expect many Deputies to block the Government's first step up the stairs. Before the Bill proceeds to Committee Stage, however, I ask the Minister of State to meet everyone involved in the Galway in order to see what can or cannot be done. The Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Kyne, supports the Government yet he highlighted many sensible issues and problems. He is on the ball. This is not political but rather about doing things right.

Monksland remains an issue. I know there is a similar situation in the Minister of State's region of Waterford and Kilkenny. The sooner an announcement is made in respect of these places in order to kill the matter once and for all, the better. I do not know if he plans to kill it but that is my hope. This blurring between Roscommon and Westmeath has gone on for too long. I hope he makes whatever announcements are necessary rather than lingering and wondering. The matter must be put to bed once and for all. What is in Roscommon should stay in Roscommon and the same is true of Westmeath.

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