Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support the generality of what Senator Mooney has just said because I also have grave concerns about this issue. I raised the matter of the local government fund earlier, to which the Minister of State did not respond when summing up. Perhaps he will address my concerns now. There is a certain point at which local government cannot function in terms of the amount of money it needs. We have now gone below the ¤1 billion point. While I accept wholeheartedly that we have to find funding and cut expenditure because of the commitments we have made, I would like the Minister of State to give some assurance that local government can continue to function. For it carry out its many functions, as elaborated upon by Senator O'Neill, local government requires adequate funding. As I have said, we have gone below the ¤1 billion mark. I speak to officials from my own local authority every day. In fact, I spoke to the county secretary this morning about an issue related to the funding of local government. Will the Minister of State, in the context of what Senator Mooney has said, give the House some assurance that we are not going to see a continual extraction of funds from local government? If that continues, local government will cease to function. In dealing with this legislation today we are looking at taking some money out of the motor taxation fund. In the broader scheme of things, however, local government is a very important element of our democracy and we must ensure it can continue to operate. I ask the Minister of State to respond.