Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Two parties consistently implemented this policy over the past 20 years. Fianna Fáil did so initially with, in recent times, the Progressive Democrats. That should be remembered.

I am glad Senator John Paul Phelan is back. Lest he missed it en route from his office, I pointed out earlier that the decentralisation programme could have been completed by now if in 1982 the then Minister for Finance, former Deputy John Bruton, had not cancelled the process and sold the sites. However, that is not surprising, given that at the time Fine Gael was more concerned with putting VAT on children's shoes.