Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The recommendations for Waterford are part of a process to bring together an entity that will represent 114,000 people and provide strength for the county and city. The heritage, traditions and mayoral status of Waterford will continue in the true metropolitan style that is to be enjoyed by Limerick, Cork and Dublin. These are the capitals of the regions and need to be strengthened.

Senator David Cullinane but perhaps not Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh will realise no one in Waterford would be happy with the decline of the city centre. We are going to allow for the necessary impetus, as we have done through some recent major financial announcements which Senator David Cullinane chose not to mention.

With regard to alignment, many Senators mentioned the community sector, the representatives of which I met yesterday. I have a very close working relationship with the sector. From a recent visit to Brussels to meet Members of the European Parliament and the Commission, the representatives will know from the budgetary discussions taking place on the Common Agricultural Policy that there will be a massive reduction in funding under the rural development programme. This has been well signalled by the officials the representatives met in Brussels. One will not need the same structures to administer a budget that will probably be 50% lower.

The local and community development programme and all such programmes are part of a wider package of services to be delivered for the areas in question. When I refer to the alignment of community and local authorities, I envisage them working closely together. The 1,968 people who work in the community and partnership sector are an enormous expense. Do we need to provide for synergies to ensure savings in administration such that the money left over will be available to provide front-line services? This is the challenge for everybody. One is either interested in oneself or services for the community. The structures we have in place will not be the kind we will be able to afford from 2014. We must examine what savings we can achieve in local government to continue meeting some of the costs of administration.