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Seanad
‹ Order of Business

Local government reform proposals

Summary

Senator Wilson asks when proposals for local-government reform will be published, criticising repeated delays; the exchange also welcomes Kerry Group’s planned jobs and investment.

Like other colleagues, I welcome yesterday's announcement by the Kerry Group that it will locate an international centre of excellence in Naas. Over 900 people will be employed on a permanent basis and 400 people will be employed on a temporary basis while the centre is being constructed. This morning some commentary suggested that there was political interference in achieving the project. I hope there was.

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I hope there was.

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I welcome the move and I hope there will be more. If there was political interference on a weekly basis then we would have 52,000 jobs created per year. For the remaining year or more of the life of the Government we could expect to see 52,000 high-quality jobs being provided.

I ask the Leader to clarify when the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will announce his proposals for local government reform. Every Monday morning we wake up to hear that it will be this week or next week. I am aware that he was prepared to announce it last July. Only for the intervention of our colleagues in the Labour Party who stopped him, we would already know his plans. I hope the Labour Party got its way with the local government reform proposals that the Minister will bring before us. All I want to know is when he will do it because hundreds of councillors do not know what their future holds. I ask for clarification on the matter.

I welcome the fact that the Leader has invited a number of Ministers to come here before the budget. When will he invite the Minister for Education and Skills? I have a number of questions for him, particularly on adult education and guidance counselling services.

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