Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

The nation has been looking to the Taoiseach to reverse some of the malpractices put into effect by the Fianna Fáil Deputies sitting in front of me. In response to a question from the Leader of the Opposition, the Taoiseach stated that for legal reasons he is unable to reverse the orgy of State appointments made by the previous Government as it left office. That is not good enough. These appointments ought to be reversed even if it means changing the law and if the Attorney General has given advice, the Taoiseach must not hide behind it. He must change the law because the quango culture and the culture of cronyism is still alive and well. I, for one, was particularly disappointed with this morning's media reports-----

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