Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is missing the point. The point is a number schemes involving grant aid existed. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government had two schemes, but there was no uptake and, therefore, there was a problem.

We picked six towns for the pilot. The €100,000 is not to do up any premises. The €100,000 is to sit down with the local people, chambers of commerce and other groups. These six towns might come back with six solutions for their towns. They may all be the same or different towns might come up with different solutions.

The Deputy and other Members continually refer to the diktat coming from Government. I am now saying the Government is going to the people and the groups. They are going to sit down. We have given them funding. They will get professional people and work with the community. They will talk to everybody and they will come back to me next year with proposals. When these proposals come back, I can then consider what funding we can take from the rural regeneration and development fund, what funding we are spending in the towns and villages what funding we are spending on outdoor recreation to see what we can do to help these towns. They may be different solutions; they are different problems. The existing schemes have not worked and this is a new way of doing it.

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