Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

I am sure it is. I notice that the Senator, not wanting to parade up and down the road from Longford to Dublin, has acquired a place in which to lay his head in Dublin. That is good. He does not have to do the long trek from Longford to Dublin all the time. I acquired a place for myself in Dublin many years ago.

The Minister of State's script is a beauty in that it lays out comprehensively what the Department is doing as regards decentralisation and the way it is going about it. I applaud the work that has been done, with so many departmental headquarters being located around the country. I am referring to the work of Mr. Phil Flynn and the OPW in particular. One cannot speak with a forked tongue. Members of the Opposition cannot say they do not really want decentralisation and then ask, almost in the same breath, what happened this or that town. If they want decentralisation they must work hard towards achieving it. I cannot see why people do not like the idea the people who came to Athlone all those years ago, and latterly, are now true Athlonians, or at least their children are. We have enjoyed each other's mutual company over the years and the initiative has been a great success, as I know this will be too.