Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I agree with Senator O'Keeffe that the delay in payments to farmers under various schemes is unacceptable. This money is vital for the families concerned as well as for the real economy with people facing into pre-Christmas expenditure. State payments should be among the first to be made. If it was in the commercial world, people would be seeking legal advice to secure payment more quickly. This is simply unacceptable. There are many reasons for failure but there are no excuses. I ask the Leader to speak directly with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Coveney, to get assurances on the dates for final payments to farmers under these schemes. While there may be a delay in a small number of cases from time to time where documentation is incorrect, it is ridiculous in the extreme that €70 million that should be in the economy is still in the Government's coffers as a result of having been delayed in this way.

As we approach Christmas, we are also approaching our own national budget as well as the budgets of local authorities throughout the country. I seek a debate on local government funding. Local authorities are recording annual deficits of €6 million. Meanwhile, it is alleged - and I ask the Leader to check this - that one of the Dublin authorities has in excess of €120 million on deposit. If so, we should examine our national approach to local government funding. We cannot tolerate a scenario where smaller local authorities without the commercial rates base are struggling to maintain employment and a basic level of community services, while at the same time wealthy Dublin authorities have the arrogance to invest €120 million of public money to secure the best rate of return rather than using it to supply public services.