Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)

Three and half years ago the Minister for Finance outlined plans for the largest decentralisation programme in the history of the State. In December 1999, the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, stated that everything which could be decentralised would be decentralised. Some 10,000 Civil Service posts in Government Departments and non-commercial semi-State bodies would be identified and redistributed to provincial centres by mid-2001. Since then, nothing has happened. I accept that this is not quite the case. Three Government Ministers decided to do some political plundering – before an official blueprint was drawn up – and look after their own political neck of the woods.