Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I warmly welcome the positive tone of Senator Finucane's contribution. Both of us come from the west Munster region where it has been warmly welcomed across the board. I welcome the Minister of State and his officials and compliment the Minister of State on the energy and vigour he is bringing to this task. In two or three years' time I look forward to him saying one can pay a visit to the fine town of Trim, along with Trim Castle, the Wellington monument and Butterstream Gardens where we will be able to visit and admire the headquarters of the Office of Public Works.

This policy of decentralisation is one to which Fianna Fáil has been strongly committed for over 20 years and perhaps even longer. One of the finest examples of decentralisation was in 1964 when the Garda Training College moved to Templemore. The programme has been greeted extremely warmly outside Dublin. I argue that the programme is also in the interests of Dublin. Regardless of where we come from, we want a strong capital of a strong nation. That is not possible if all the development and growth is concentrated in one area which is bursting at the seams and where there are many pressures such as high house prices, congestion and so on while much of the rest of the country is lagging behind. It should be possible to spread development more evenly. Industry tends to concentrate in certain centres There are some exceptions, for example, the village of Dromcollogher in Senator Finucane's constituency which has some significant industry attached to it. In a situation where the Government is accused of breaking promises in its election manifesto, this is one we are keeping.