Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy, and I really mean that, for his support because he is correct and this is something I have been saying within the Department. Of course, civil servants do not like to give out to other civil servants and they will protect one another whenever they have to, but local authorities have not had themselves in glory. Every week, I read cuttings from local papers all over the country and it annoys me to see Fine Gael councillors, Fianna Fáil councillors and Independent councillors criticising the Government for not providing funding. There has never been as much funding put into rural Ireland. There has been €22 million given through the LEADER programme. The town and village scheme has provided €53 million. There has been €41 million for outdoor recreation. The CLÁR programme has provided €25 million. The local improvement scheme has provided €38 million. The SICAP programme has provided €190 million. It is not that the funding is not going in. Sometimes the local authorities are not doing what they should do and I will tell them, in the next rounds of these schemes, that they are not to make application for schemes if they are not ready to deliver them. That is a message that will go out loud and clear.

Deputy Calleary is right that it may be the time to put out figures that show what local authorities have got from my Department. I have a list here showing how much money each county got from my Department last year but I do not have the corresponding list of how much they have then spent and that is something I need to start working on.

Deputy Calleary was talking about a pilot scheme earlier and he is quite correct. I want to sit down with all Departments when the report comes back from the six towns. Deputy Calleary touched on something I do not want to see happening. I do not want every other Department throwing schemes over to the rural regeneration scheme or over to my Department. It happens regularly that letters come in from Deputies or community programmes and the Departments wish to state they do not wish to touch them but that it is a matter for my Department. It is not. We need to sit down and start working that out and we will do that when we get the results from this pilot scheme.

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