Perhaps it was an oversight on the part of the Leader of this House but my colleague, Senator Burke, asked for an immediate debate on the Border, midland and western regions. The former Minister and Leader of the House failed to respond to this request, even though I know she did not mean it. However, it is indicative of what is happening in the country whereby a BMW region was set out. This was basically a paper region to apply for Objective One status which had no structures. The European Union still has the power and ability to set up structures, whether at regional or local authority level, particularly nowadays when the Minister for Finance is withdrawing funding from local authorities because of the state of the economy. We must begin to empower local authorities through the European Union.