Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I am interested in what the Taoiseach has said. However, is it not reasonable to draw the conclusion that the reason we have such frequent resort to outside consultants is that we do not have the in-house capacity or knowledge? The Comptroller and Auditor General carried out a report on this matter four to six years ago or longer in which he examined the service. There have been some very stark examples in recent times. Is this because we do not have the in-house capacity or is there a fear in the modern Civil Service in that, owing to the nature of public affairs today or whatever reason, civil servants are afraid to make decisions on certain matters without the cover of a consultant's report, so that even a relatively straightforward matter will not go up the line or reach the Minister's desk unless it instances one of the top five consultants claiming the idea put forward is good? I draw from the Taoiseach's answer — he can tell me whether I am correct — that he has thought about this and has concluded the implications for IR and staff morale are such that he does not see how we can easily do it. A crying need exists for this type of expertise and resorting to consultants is an extremely expensive way of achieving it.

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