Would the Minister of State agree that, having reversed the decision made by the Coalition — the decision being that the local authorities would have to surrender 100 per cent of the revenue they derived from the sale of local authority houses to the Exchequer — and having allowed the local authorities to retain their 40 per cent, it is now necessary for him to go further and to remove from local authorities the responsibility of raising revenue for the upkeep of courthouses, for health services and for agriculture over which the local authority have absolutely no control? Thirdly, would he also consider that now is the time for him to increase the subsidy to meet the massive loan charges which local authorities have to pay which in some instances are so high that they will exceed the amount provided for the carrying out of services?

(Dublin South-East): I do not share those views. The point about courthouses was raised at a recent deputation and I gave an assurance that that matter would be looked into. Regarding the other two parts of the question, the Deputy is aware that the Government give maximum consideration to any local authority who get in touch about a problem. In that way the Department of the Environment work on a day-to-day basis. In answer to the question, I am satisfied that the moneys that have been provided in the budget go a long way towards meeting the demands of local authorities, but I make no apology for saying that we find ourselves in difficult times and we must take a pragmatic look at moneys which are available and make the best of resources given to various local authorities. I am in disagreement with persons who hold the view that the present system is inadequate. In my experience I have found it operating very satisfactorily.