Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I also thank the Leader of the House for her efforts in trying to secure the Minister's presence here since I first placed this item on the Order Paper six months ago. I congratulate the Minister on his openness and frankness. We are all in this together. We have a problem in rural Ireland which it will take a long time to get sorted.

When I first became involved in community development in 1995, the same language was used to discuss the build-up to the White Paper on Rural Development. What has been done is quite visible in any rural area such as west Galway, County Mayo or County Donegal. Roads that were never tarred are now being tarred. It is also encouraging that an effort is being made to hold on to our language.