Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

In respect of cost benefit analysis, any time one shares services such as human resources or information technology and so on, one obviously saves money. In addition, there will be a streamlining process and I hope that whatever will emerge and be decided on by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, will improve the effectiveness of the cultural institutions. This is my ambition and I note all institutions and the effectiveness thereof, including the Oireachtas, must be reviewed periodically. This is precisely what is being done in this regard and is a good sign of democracy. It is what democracy is all about, namely, continuous renewal and refocusing. I have worked closely with the cultural institutions for years and am convinced and confident that whatever will emerge will be in the best interests of those institutions. In general, when it happens I believe that while they may not all be happy with the outcome, they will accept it. In the meantime, all the cultural institutions continue to work as before, in the interest of the Irish taxpayer. They continue to do their work and in no way will they be impaired in their work by the ongoing deliberation in respect of the future of these institutions.

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