John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will give a commitment to that, and not just for Cork. The Department will circulate letters to all local authorities advising them to get a handle on asset management issues in general. Senator Boyhan is wrong if he believes we have got this over the line. We have got to the position where the Cork issue does not excite as much difficulty as Galway but the Senator will have had a gentle taste of some difficulty tonight from Senator Lombard, which shows there are still issues. Before the Second Stage contributions in the Dáil a month or so before Committee Stage, numerous Fianna Fáil Deputies raised concerns and spoke to me privately about how they wished to vote against the proposals. A lid has been kept on it but this does not mean there is universal political acceptance. There is a realisation now, however, that assets and other issues are secondary to the idea that the people of Cork should have the best possible local authority service. I maintain that the way to do that in Galway is to have a joint management structure between both local authorities but we will get to that later.