Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

There is something discordant about this debate. From the very beginning, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, and the Taoiseach consistently said the scheme would be voluntary. It would be impossible to exert pressure in a matter such as this. It must be voluntary, of necessity. Therefore, one must move ahead with those who have applied. To demand what will happen to a particular town if people have not applied for it is to remove the voluntary aspect. I fully applaud the fact that it should be voluntary and will continue to support that approach. In that way people will want to go to a particular area and make their homes there. I understand that there are people who cannot move for various reasons including family, care of old people, education, etc. That is understood and there is no pressure on such people to move. That would be to move away from the core idea of decentralisation.

The Minister of State came in for much flak when he said, "Welcome to Parlon country". I knew him in another guise, and that is the nature of the man. He is exuberant and outgoing and wanted to express his delight at the announcement.