Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister about other Departments. His Department cannot be just a clearing house. He said he wanted more money but one quarter of his 2018 CLÁR budget is still unspent. We keep coming back to this in respect of all the schemes we discuss. There is an announcement but this is not the same as actual spending. What is it about schemes that we are making them so difficult for communities? I do not care about local authorities, as they are big enough and bold enough, but communities are being affected. If the Minister is saying that he has not got enough money, we will support him and the reintroduction of CLÁR was, of course, part of the confidence and supply agreement. Communities suffer, however, when more than one quarter of the 2018 budget remains unspent half way through 2019. All Departments need to work collectively and to not dump all the rural issues into the Minister's Department.

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