Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I have no doubt but that we need agencies such as the IDA and I commend them on their good work. Does the Minister believe he needs 29 different agencies, as listed in the TASC report. I could provide this list to the Minister and we could determine what agencies included thereon are not on his list. We could then ask whether the identified agencies are needed. Does the report not beg the question as to whether the functions of certain agencies overlap and whether there is a requirement for tightening up?

There is a lack of political accountability. We have a National Consumer Agency and a Consumer Strategy Group. On the issue of setting up the enterprise strategy group, we allocate functions to a to a particular appointed board or group and, when results are not achieved, the Department says it has no role in the operations of the independent body in question. There is much concern that when work done outside the aegis of the Department and without political direction does not lead to positive developments, the Department is distanced from the work that must then be done. There is a lack of democratic accountability and a need for a review and amalgamation. That there are 29 departmental agencies receiving 90% of the Department's budget begs the question as to whether there is a quango system in place that suits the Department but not the people.

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