Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Until that election, beautiful hospital buildings in County Westmeath had been standing idle for between 11 and 12 years because no money had been available to fit them out or tog them out. The people of that area had not been well served by the failure to secure funding for the hospital in question. The state-of-the-art wards at the hospital are now open, thank God. I congratulate everyone in the Government who was associated with the project, including the then Minister for Finance, who is now the Taoiseach. He provided money on foot of the strong and consistent representations that I made on a weekly basis in that regard.

There is a new fire station in the Castlepollard area, which I represent. Would it have been developed as quickly if the people of the area had not elected me in 2002? A new state-of-the-art sewerage system is serving the development that has taken place in the village of Castlepollard, where I was bred, born and reared. There is a state-of-the-art one-stop-shop in the new Westmeath County Council offices. People can use the new facility to apply for planning permission, meet engineers, tax their cars and get driving licences. The membership of the local library, which is in a rural area, has been trebled to ensure it remains self-sufficient in Castlepollard. I assisted in that process, as a Member of the Oireachtas at the time. The Minister in the neighbouring constituency, Deputy Dempsey, approved the development of a second-level college, Coláiste Cionn Torc. The college has now been built and is hugely successful. Not only is it educating students during the day, but it is also providing night classes in a rural area. I am proud that my 23 years of hard work helped to bring that project to fruition.

These things are even more important for rural Ireland during the current economic downturn than they were when the economy was going well. I cannot understand why the Constituency Commission, in its wisdom, did not move a small portion of the Clonee area into Meath East, where the numbers badly need to be increased to give the people adequate representation, rather than decimating all of north Westmeath. As I have said, 31% of the land area of north Westmeath has been taken. Having said that, I continue to represent the people of north Westmeath as a Member of the Oireachtas. I am honoured and privileged to be the Leader of Seanad Éireann, with the status of the Government's representative in this House.