Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

Following on from Senator John Paul Phelan's comments on decentralisation, we noted with interest the Taoiseach's remarks at the weekend that perhaps the timeframe was ambitious. The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which is to move to Knock, has acquired temporary accommodation in Tubbercurry, County Sligo. The Office of Public Works will take over a building on 1 June and 77 people will be employed in the next two and a half months. There are successes, although I know there are problems. The action, in principle, is good and it will be beneficial to rural areas. It should be given a fair chance because it is easy to sit back and do nothing.