Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, line 2, to delete "including" and substitute "being".

This bone of contention for the Labour Party was raised on Second and Committee Stages. Bringing in outside consultants to operate this system cannot be justified. Why is this being proposed? It will lead to additional costs with no guarantee that the system will be better or more efficient. We have some of the best personnel in the public sector. They are very competent and have proved in the past that they can deal with emergency payments. In the Department of Social and Family Affairs, for example, personnel organise the making of payments on a weekly basis. One of the great cries from the general public, who are weary of this Government, concerns the number of consultants and outside bodies every Minister and Department engages to produce reports and get work done which can be done by people in the Departments. We have confidence that they will do as good a job, if not better, than the outside grouping referred to by the Minister of State that will carry out this function, which also will place an additional cost on to the State.

We ask the Minister to accept the point made. I do not expect him to turn, however, because he has not acceded to our request on different Stages of the Bill. We ask him to delete "including" and substitute "being".

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