Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like the previous speaker, Deputy McGrath, my colleague in Dublin Bay North, I very much welcome this Bill and greatly appreciate the presence of the Minister. My colleagues in the Reform Alliance, including the Acting Chairman, Deputy Mathews, welcome this Bill which will put an end to severance payments to Ministers and will reduce the party leader's allowance. Many constituents and members of the public get very angry when they see the extortionate pensions, allowances and perks paid to previous Members of this House and to chief executives of State bodies.

In recent weeks, we have seen many concerning reports in the media about Irish Water and the spending and start-up costs and what was paid to consultants. The same consultants seem to be consistently employed by the State. That could be looked at to ensure the money is spread around. A cap could be applied under the procurement rules so that five or ten companies do not get all the work and that it is shared among some of the other expert consultants in the market. Spending in charities has knocked the confidence of the public in the system and has resulted in people being more disillusioned with the system and, sadly, with politics.

I have no doubt my constituents will be happy with the Bill and the fact that severance payments will come to an end. Once this Bill is enacted, Ministers will no longer receive a payment on leaving office. Many people have expressed frustration to me that so little reform has taken place in the Irish political system. I know it was the subject of debate at the Constitutional Convention in Malahide last weekend. It is looking to see how the procedures and the way business is done in the Dáil Éireann could be improved. People are angry there has been no accountability with former Ministers walking away with huge lumps sums even though they were responsible for the economic collapse of our country and the bank bailout. No one has been held to account.

I know the Government has given a commitment to do that. I suggest that my colleague, Deputy Mathews, who has always been an independent voice and spoken the truth about the banking situation, should be considered as one of the members of that banking inquiry in light of his track record and what he stands for as a Member of our Parliament.

Following the recent disclosures regarding the use of consultants as part of the establishment of Irish Water, it has never been more apparent that greater transparency is needed in all aspects of political funding. Many of my constituents have expressed concern about how the money from the local property tax is being spent. They had understood it would be used to improve local services for the betterment of their communities, but sadly this has not happened. We know that some of the money in question went into the central Exchequer to be spent on the day-to-day running of the country. Some of the other revenue was used to meet the costs associated with setting up Irish Water. People are angry that consultants are receiving pay-offs and bonuses are being given to staff without any proper transparency regarding what they are getting those bonuses for. We have learned that 299 people in Irish Water will be entitled to bonuses of €2.1 million. We are all happy that the Minister has decided to include Irish Water in the freedom of information legislation. I thank him for that. I hope it will be backdated to cover all the ins and outs of that organisation's expenditure.

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