Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the cost of Cabinet meetings during 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30669/06]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach if he intends to hold further Cabinet meetings outside Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32254/06]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach if he will hold further Cabinet meetings outside of Dublin in the coming months. [35935/06]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

It is not possible to distinguish the cost of Government meetings generally from the overall costs associated with the operation of the Government secretariat. Where Cabinet meetings are held outside Government Buildings, additional costs may arise. The cost for my Department to date in respect of the meeting which was held in Avondale House, County Wicklow on 31 July 2006 is €8,031. The additional cost for such Cabinet meetings is mainly accounted for by staff costs, the need to provide communications and media facilities and related catering. The holding of Government meetings outside Dublin is very much welcomed by local communities and provides an opportunity to meet with local organisations and groups. To date, nine meetings have been held outside Dublin. Cork, Donegal, Kerry, Laois, Louth, Roscommon, Waterford and Wicklow have been venues for Government meetings in previous years. No further meetings are planned for outside Dublin but it is an initiative I intend to continue in the future.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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I am interested in the costs involved but the Taoiseach stated it is difficult to provide that information, although the Wicklow meeting cost €8,031. Have the costs in general increased in recent years? When I raised the issue previously, the Taoiseach stated very little money was available for Cabinet meetings outside Dublin. Has the position changed? Will he take into account the special case that could be made to hold meetings in rapidly expanding commuter belt communities as well as further afield? Perhaps Wicklow falls into that category but the Taoiseach should appreciate the difficulties people in such communities face in their day-to-day lives. The population has exploded and facilities are not available. I mentioned Swords yesterday during Leaders' Question as a case in point. Has the Taoiseach plans to take on board people's wishes to meet in towns such as this? They are under the impression the difficulties they face are not appreciated as they try to cope with commuting, child rearing and a lack of facilities.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On average, only one meeting a year is held outside Dublin and the cost is low. The meeting in Wicklow was held during the Wicklow 400 celebrations and we met those involved in organising them as well as local community representatives. We have met in Cork and Waterford cities. My ministerial colleagues regularly hold meetings in commuter towns. They commute themselves and it is an issue with which they are most familiar.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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But they are not on trains or buses.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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My colleague, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, commutes seven or eight hours to his home a few times a week.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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In a nice car.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is more familiar with commuting than the Deputy who takes a handy route on the motorway to Swords.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Try the bus.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The intention is to have a good reason and, normally, an invitation. It is in cases such as that of Cork during its year as the European capital of culture that we tend to have meetings outside Dublin, but it is a rare, once a year occurrence.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach read out a long list of venues at which Cabinet meetings have been held. Has he carried out an analysis of the impact of the meetings? From an examination of interviews on local radio stations and in local newspapers, the meetings seem to be convoys of camaraderie to different locations. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism might give a few cheques to the local sports club or visit a football club to tell it to submit its application. I recall the case of Ballaghaderreen when the convoy went into the west. Most of the promises made by the litany of benign Ministers did not achieve much, but I understand the necessity for the Taoiseach to consider this matter important.

Has the Taoiseach planned Cabinet meetings outside Dublin for next year or has he stopped at a particular point on the calendar because of a realisation that he may not be able to plan beyond it? Will he consider holding a Cabinet meeting in Lucan at 8.30 a.m. and have Ministers travel from the Ballyowen roundabout into some of the local estates to see what people must put up with? Will the Taoiseach hold the meeting in Firhouse in Deputy Rabbitte's constituency where I was last night? In some areas, the only bus service is at 7.15 a.m. while other locations have no bus services.

While it is nice and important for the black convoy to speed through the countryside to get to where the people are, perhaps the Taoiseach should focus more on the reality of what people must live with. It might be of practical importance to the members of the Cabinet who stare out benignly from their leather seats——

Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy should ask a question.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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——while being escorted by the Garda and waving at the people stuck in traffic jams, including the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt.

Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy had a State car once.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That was many years ago. Hopefully, it will soon be the case again, but with a more practical impetus.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I remind Deputy Kenny that Deputy Timmins of the Fine Gael Party asked me to go to Wicklow.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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That was before the boot camp.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was near Deputy Rabbitte's constituency where we all keep an eye on him. The other day, I went to Abbottstown to watch schools going up before houses are built. The construction of the new commuter station is well advanced before other developments occur. I have seen ideal planning and development.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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The Taoiseach is the first.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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There has been enormous change. The metro west will be in that area to take plans into the future. I watched commuter trains on the rail line speed off to the west. People travel in record times now compared to the past. If I had time, I would gladly have more meetings in such places to see the quality of life and ideal communities there.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach has lost touch with reality.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There is no post office bus service. It takes half an hour to get——

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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One bus. It takes two hours to commute six miles.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have limited time and spend most of it in this rather cramped city, but I try my best to decentralise people to share the quality of life and standard of living in the large houses——

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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They would go if education services were available.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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What is the ideal?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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——that, unfortunately, we cannot afford in these parts.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach seems to be able to get from A to B more quickly than the rest of us.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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He has lost touch with reality.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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He only sees large houses.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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That is a view of the kingdom I do not recognise. The Taoiseach parades regally through his kingdom and petals are dropped in his path. We read the happy news that a royal baby is expected.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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We are all pleased.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Hallelujah.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Would it be a good idea to bring the Cabinet to some of the locations to which many public services were to have decentralised but have not done so? Approximately 40 locations have been disappointed.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Rabbitte has reminded me that I was recently in Clonakilty to open some of the offices in question and that I visited some of the offices in Cavan. I opened the Marine Institute on the beautiful coast of Galway Bay.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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It is in rented accommodation.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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No, it is a fine building that cost more than €10 million to complete. It is an architecturally fine building that opens onto the sea. I can see why only eight people did not want to go, because it is a good location. They told me that four and five bedroom houses there cost only 55% of what they cost in this city and I understand why people would want to go to those lovely locations. It might not be as nice today as it was in the summer months, but these are the reasons people are queuing up for decentralisation. I will take Deputy Rabbitte's invitation and try to bring the Cabinet to some of those locations if I get a chance in the next number of years.