Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I will be brief. I was present for the Budget Statement of the then Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, in which he announced the decentralisation programme and the scatter-gun approach to decentralisation of Departments to various towns. The only reason for it was to gain success in the local elections but that gun misfired because this Government got its answer in no uncertain terms in the last local elections.

There was no thought put into this decentralisation programme. I would go so far as to say there was no consultation with the unions or anybody else prior to the announcement of this election ploy but on the fateful day the Minister made his speech about decentralisation, he said the Government should be judged on the delivery of this decentralisation programme within three years. If that is so, what kind of judgment can the people make on this Government? The way towns have been treated is appalling. The Minister is trying to fool people in towns that are expecting decentralisation. The Government is paying lip service to those people. The Minister can fool some of the people some of the time but he cannot fool all the people all the time. Charlie McCreevy's words will come back to haunt the Government. If it is to be judged on decentralisation, it is dead in the water.