For the information of Senator Callely, the joint committee received a letter from the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, dated 6 August 2009. She was unable to accept our invitation to address the report on the Dublin commuter belt but proposed to take account of the report as part of her consideration of an bord snip's recommendations. She suggested that it might be appropriate for the committee to invite representatives of the enterprise development agencies to attend. I do not think that is good enough. This committee, which shadows her Department, took the trouble of travelling the length and breadth of Leinster to obtain the views and opinions of the people on the ground. Wherever we went the organisations who took the trouble to meet with us to discuss the issues which were important to them put forward cogent and well-thought out opinions. Nowhere did we experience slipshod presentation — on the contrary, it was obvious from the way they put their views forward that local businesses and democratic and administrative representatives took our visit very seriously. In these circumstances, and given the depth of the recession and current levels of unemployment in these towns, I was very disappointed that the Minister declined our invitation to discuss her contribution. This was a major error on the Minister's part and the people of Athy, Balbriggan, Carlow, Gorey, Mullingar, Naas, Navan, Portlaoise, Portarlington and the other towns in Leinster should be made aware that we are writing to the Minister again today to ask her to reconsider her decision and to come before this committee to discuss this important issue on behalf of the people to whose voices we listened in the aforementioned towns.
We know there are issues relating to money but we have presented a report and a considerable number of the recommendations would not cost anything.
