Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I agree completely with your suggestion, Chairman. In recent years, Members' votes, in the budget or in subsequent legislation, for reductions in various sectors have not been followed by the Departments. A gross figure is the one that is managed. Our calls for a reduction in this or that are completely ignored. The Departments simply look at the gross figure. It is not drilled down.

None of us wants to go into the Chamber and vote for cuts to disability services or home helps. We vote on reductions in other areas but we are ignored when money is allotted to the people who are providing the services. This happens in education, health and social welfare. Individual Departments seem to take a gross figure and work off that. They do not seem to make an effort to fulfil what is voted for by the Parliament.