Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I withdraw the word. The Minister has contacted all 28 local authority managers in the country and has pestered them to spend €15 million when they have only spent €3 million. I sympathise with his position, but part of the fault could lie with his Department. Heretofore, the Estimates for the local authorities were agreed in November or December of every year, but this year the Minister extended the date to allow local authorities complete their Estimates by the end of January 2003. That delayed their deliberations. It was a backward step.

The meetings on local authority Estimates usually took place in March and April of each year. A former Minister for the Environment, Mr. Pádraig Flynn, decided to change that and provided that meetings on the Estimates would have to take place before the end of November or December each year. For some reason the date has been put back.