Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I am not saying there should not be Ministers of State. I was a Minister of State, had devolved powers and introduced legislation. I dealt, for example, with drug dealing in local authority estates, instituted a task force on Traveller accommodation and introduced a village renewal scheme. I stand over my record. However, we now have too many Ministers of State spread among the various Departments. I instituted the homelessness initiative when only two and a half years in Government. I can stand over my record. If Ministers of State have devolved powers, they can be very productive. However, the kind of pay off that has developed because we had a Government that threw money at everything is no longer justifiable, if it ever was.

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