Mark Dearey (Green Party)

If Senator Healy Eames checks with the Members around her, they can confirm it. I raised the matter yesterday, to which I would appreciate a response while understanding why it was not possible to get one in the context of yesterday's debate, about the need to inject greater expertise into the dealings of the Oireachtas and the public service, generally. I proposed that a partial list system might allow parties to make key appointments in finance as well as in other areas where expertise on the floors of these Houses would be of great value. I ask again that the Seanad be given the opportunity to debate this, given the crisis in which we find ourselves.

On the implications of the four year plan for local government, I foresee enormous changes for councillors once the various charges scheduled for local government are collected. It will not be, from 2013 on, the job it was. There are also implications for local authorities that do not have a collecting function for local government finance. They will find that their wealth is, in effect, going to an authority on which they do not have representation. There are profound implications for local government in this. I am aware of them, as I know is the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. We must not lose sight of the repercussions these necessary measures will have on how local government functions. It highlights the need for local government reform in order that local authorities that continue to exist will have revenue raising and spending functions. That is an essential principle we need to pursue.

I welcome some of the measures in the plan dealing with enterprise, stimulus, the retention of the 12.5% corporation tax and the extension of the PRSI scheme for employers. I worry about the VAT issue, however, and believe we need to return to it. I spoke last week about how sensitive a question VAT is for Border areas, and this is something we need to examine in much more detail.