Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It seems clear that the Irish Government intends commemorating that anniversary by emasculating the Irish Human Rights Commission and important aspects of our human rights mandate. What sort of cost benefit analysis has the Minister undertaken? It seems to me that the overall cost of maintaining and running the five bodies mentioned in the question is about €17 million. What cost benefit analysis has informed the Minister's decision?

See this speech in context