Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I want to speak on the amendment about the Minister and the National Roads Authority having responsibility to the House. I wish the Minister well on his appointment — I mean that sincerely. This morning on the Order of Business we had a discussion about accountability to the Dáil. The time has come for the leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Enda Kenny, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, the leaders of the other parties, the Ceann Comhairle and the Taoiseach to sit down together because we must have accountability to the Dáil. It one writes to the National Roads Authority it is impossible to get an answer. It is impossible to get an answer from many of our State agencies. The people vote to put us into this House and they expect us to represent them. It is only right that if I put down a Dáil question to the Minister on the National Roads Authority, the Road Safety Authority or whatever, I should get a reply. If the Minister and his officials send that question to the roads authority it should respond to him and he should respond to me.

Members of this House are getting more and more frustrated, as are the public, and that is the reason they come to us. Nine times out of ten they have tried to get information they want or make their own case to the National Roads Authority but they cannot get that information. We are elected to this House and whatever we want an answer on should be given to us.

Deputy Mitchell spoke about the ombudsman. I read the ombudsman's report and even that office is now curtailed. When we have the debate in the House I will point out that we should abolish that office if we do not give it the authority and the power to investigate. It has been strangled by the Government which is not giving it the resources or the manpower to do its job. That is wrong. We would not need an ombudsman or these agencies if the State answered the questions. Why can we not get the information we want? Why not give the public the information? What is there to hide? Sensitive information should not be given, but why not give the information required? Every State agency should be accountable to this House.

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