Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not know whether the Taoiseach's concluding remark to the effect that the EMC is not a replacement for the Cabinet in terms of its collective responsibility is true. Personally, I do not believe it to be true. When the Government first entered office, it was obliged to deal with the economic crisis and the troika and the Taoiseach obviously felt that the best, most cohesive and most coherent way to proceed was by establishing the EMC. As the Taoiseach stated, this probably had much to do with ensuring the flow of information in order that everyone would be aware of the exact nature of the challenges involved and decide how best to try to deal with them. If that was the case, that was the Taoiseach's prerogative. However, accusations have been made with regard to the nature of the EMC and the role it plays. Those accusations need to be answered.

If it is the case that the discussions which take place at Economic Management Council level involve putting a number of options on the table and then bringing them to Cabinet for decision, that is fine. However, an accusation has been made to the effect that a number of key decisions have been made by the EMC and then brought to the Cabinet to be rubber-stamped. As I am sure the Taoiseach is aware, I am one of the new cohort of Deputies and I have never been in government. I am not familiar, therefore, with the complexities relating to how the Cabinet works. I understand, however, that only two individuals who are not members of the Cabinet are permitted to attend its meetings, namely, the Attorney General and - I may be wrong in this regard - a secretary to the Taoiseach, whereas a number of senior civil servants and political advisers attend meetings of the EMC. If that is the position, is there not a risk that such civil servants and advisers are having an influence on the matters which can be decided upon by the council and passed on to the Cabinet for final decision?

The Taoiseach indicated that the EMC does not replace the Cabinet in the context of its decision-making powers. However, a former journalist who worked as a special adviser to Deputy Quinn when he served as Minister for Education and Skills recently authored a book, An Education - How An Outsider Became an Insider and Learned What Really Goes on in Irish Government, in which he stated that one of the decisions made at EMC level and brought to the Cabinet to be rubber-stamped was that relating to changes to the pupil-teacher ratio announced in budget 2012. The individual in question stated that the matter was presented to Cabinet as a fait accompliand that the EMC had decided that to meet the particular challenges facing the Department of Education and Skills, changing the PTR was the way to proceed. The Taoiseach may be able to confirm whether that was the case or whether the EMC gives individual Ministers a particular pot of money and grants them complete discretion regarding how it is spent. Is it the case that decisions relating to changing the PTR are the responsibility of the Minister for Education and Skills or are these signed off at Economic Management Council level? It is critical that an answer be provided in this regard because we need to know whether decisions are being made at EMC level or by the Cabinet.

I do not really want to go into great detail in respect of water services. However, there is also an issue in this regard in the context of where the responsibility for making decisions lies. Deputy Martin referred to an amount of €500 million and other Deputies mentioned the water metering programme. I am of the view that what is happening is a fiasco. The Taoiseach states that water meters are required outside every individual home and that such meters serve a purpose in the context of conservation. I represent the same constituency as the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, with whom the Taoiseach is having a conversation at present. The Minister of State may be aware that water meters were recently installed in a particular estate in the constituency. There are no footpaths in the estate - which encompasses Roches Buildings - and when people exit through their front doors, they come straight out onto the road. The meters which were installed have been rendered useless because they were destroyed when bin trucks drove over them. That is the type of planning which marks the process to install water meters. There is an argument to be made regarding the value of this process.

Will the Taoiseach indicate whether it is the case that decisions on policies relating to Departments are made at EMC level or are a number of options presented to the various Ministers, who then have autonomy to make their own decisions?

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