The Minister of State, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, has explained his refusal to take responsibility for the Western Development Commission in his new job in the Department of Agriculture by saying the people of the west "are fed up with tokenism" and do not need token agencies.
The chief executive of the commission, Mr Liam Scollan, has responded by saying there is sometimes a misunderstanding even at senior level in the Government about the role of the agency.
He pointed out that the current Government had put the commission on a statutory basis. "It is only a token if the Government isn't listening. If the Government is listening then it could means billions of pounds to the west," Mr Scollan said.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr O Cuiv said that while the Taoiseach might have presumed he was taking responsibility for the Ballaghaderreen-based commission, he had asked the Minister, Mr Joe Walsh, not to give it to him.
It was now his understanding from "paperwork" he had received from the Minister that Mr Walsh was going to take responsibility for the commission himself.
"What most people in the west are fed up with is tokenism. They just want basic things done right, like roads and telecommunications. They don't need any more token agencies," Mr O Cuiv said.
He also confirmed that he had attended only one meeting of the Forum of Western Ministers. About six of these have been held at the suggestion of the Western Development Commission to try to push western issues up the Cabinet agenda. "I attended once and never again. I didn't find it a productive use of my time," Mr O Cuiv said.
He knew what the people of the west wanted, and a commission which could spend less than £1 million per county per annum was only adding to the number of agencies in the west and could not make any significant difference.
Meanwhile Mr Scollan confirmed that he did not know which Minister was to have responsibility for western development.
"Sometimes, even at senior level in Government there is a misunderstanding that our only role is to invest £25 million in the western region over five years. Our much more important role is to achieve the policies and the effective collective effort that could mean investment of billions, not millions, in the west," he said.
He said the WDC had a key role in getting a plethora of agencies in the west to work much more effectively together, and they did not believe in the "go-it-alone" approach.
Mr Gerry Reynolds of Fine Gael said the affair highlighted the Government's lack of interest in and commitment to the western region. He would be putting a question to the Taoiseach in the Dail to try to find out who was responsible for western development in the Government.
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