Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is there a need for 50? Most of the actions we are taking to achieve value for money aim to make groups smaller and amalgamate them. It is the preferred way to make them more efficient and effective. Instead of this, the number appears to be growing when there are so many of them. They are supposed to be non-profit, but there must be a reason for them starting. I am sure there is a manager and staff in each of them. They all have to be paid. They might be voluntary bodies, but somebody is paying somebody. Is it a waste of taxpayers' money to have so many? Could the number be reduced to ten or 12 or could we have a target in that regard? As Mr. McCarthy said, perhaps 400 of them were set up to build a few houses. Are we talking about good management? It is crazy to have that many individual agencies.