Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I second the amendment. There is nothing I could say to add to what Senator McHugh has said. He comes from a region which is a victim of the Stalinist centralisation of this country. Ireland is extraordinarily centralised. I have already discussed this issue with the current Minister. I do not know if it is the time of year, or my advancing years, but I am not in the humour I was before the summer for a major row with him about slush funds. I will eventually rise to the bait but I will be in good form for the start of the afternoon.

Drawing a matter such as this back into the Department is not the way to go. There is a belief the money will be better spent if controlled centrally. We all know of situations where in order to avoid visible mis-spending of 1%, costs have increased by 20%. Certain Department of Education and Science construction projects have had their prices pushed up 25% by inflation because of centralised decision making. The inflated price was probably then cut back by 1% as a result of the Department's vigilance. It was 24% more expensive than would be the case had it been allowed to proceed as part of a decentralised decision-making process.