Government must move on promises

Nobody should be surprised that the Government is breaking another promise, seeing that it has broken so many already.

But it is important that the conduct of politicians in relation to their political promises should be highlighted.

In 1999, Charlie McCreevy promised that the next round of decentralisation would be more radical. “We intend to transfer the maximum possible number of public service jobs from Dublin,” he promised.

Tánaiste Mary Harney gave a commitment as late as last April that “we will get things moving” this year and the Taoiseach stated last month that the Department of Finance would be introducing the proposals before Christmas.

But now Mr McCreevy says that he cannot say when the Government will make a decision on the matter.

It is not as if the policy of decentralisation is something new. Jack Lynch’s government first promised it in the 1960s. Yet Minister McCreevy says that a number of issues still have to be examined.

He and his department did not seem to have any difficulty with bureaucratic procedures when it came to funding for Punchestown Race Course in his own constituency.

This kind of behaviour breeds political cynicism.