Seanad report: Mr Derek McDowell (Lab) was advised by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, to travel a little bit more outside the capital after Mr McDowell had compared the range of choice for people in Dublin with that in many "God-awful places down the country". Jimmy Walsh reports.
Mr McDowell referred to the Government's decentralisation policy when he spoke on the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill. He contended that the Government's approach in switching Civil Service jobs from Dublin to country areas was partly motivated by the fact that people did not wish to move from Dublin.
Many people had family, housing, schooling and other established connections with Dublin. Dublin offered people a choice of what they did with their leisure time - whether they went to the theatre, the cinema, or whatever - "by comparison to a lot of those God-awful places down the country where all you have is a choice of dingy pubs to go to".
Dr Martin Mansergh (FF): "There is a fine quality of life to be had in many parts of the country."
Mr Parlon said he was surprised Mr McDowell should speak in such an unenlightened way about God-forsaken places around the country. "He should travel a little bit more outside the capital, to see that the dingy pubs he referred to around the country are quite attractive places now and they are attracting multi-national visitors from all over the globe."
Mr Brendan Ryan (Lab) said it was grossly impertinent of the US to tell the European Union how to do its business when America did not allow democracy within its own shores.
President Bush had in recent days twice attempted to interfere with the internal business of the EU by attempting to dictate who should or should not be a member of it.