Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am sorry to say the response does not make the situation any better than it was before we started. The review is a smokescreen. It appears the Minister has no authority from Cabinet to rescind the cut that is proposed by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, to reduce the budget by €41.5 million. The Minister, Deputy Burton, said she would be able to achieve savings of €27.5 million so, even in the best case scenario, there is a €15 million gap. She talked about activation measures of €20 million. Will she be announcing separate activation measures from within SOLAS in addition to all other activation measures that currently exist within her Department?

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