Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree regarding all the schemes that are there, but they are available to everybody right across the country.

The Minister mentioned rural regeneration and urban regeneration and all these funds. They are welcome and they create better investment for a better environment to work and live in in rural areas.

The kernel of my point is not about a reduction; it is about how the funds are being allocated on a county-by-county basis. The Minister has not answered that question. For instance, if you tell people in Glenamaddy, Williamstown or in Connemara that there is population growth in their areas, you will be at your wit's end trying to find out where is the population growth.

There is something fundamentally wrong with how the funding is allocated when there is such variance. In County Roscommon it is €97 per head and in County Sligo it is €87 per head. We are down to €46. There is no logical explanation for it. I would like to see a transparent way of doing this so every county gets a fair share.

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