Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the proposers of this motion. I, too, have had many constituents who were shabbily treated.

This redress process is intended to help people who suffered in the past. This organisation, like so many other quangos in quangoland, has a chief executive and a plethora of offices. It is renting new offices and suites of offices. We have to stop this. I discussed the issue of the different advocacy agencies and the CEOs and chairmen with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. We are sick and tired of this. The redress process must be about the victims. I fully support the motion.

The Minister said earlier that he would pass on the comments, sentiments and emotions expressed to Caranua. He should take charge and instruct it to spend the money on services for the unfortunate people who have suffered enough, rather than renting offices or setting up suites of offices or paying a CEO and so on. This country is contaminated; it is like a disease. There is an epidemic of CEOs and chairmen and boards and so on. We need a bit of humanity to deliver a service to people who deserve it. Funding for Caranua comes from many places, including the redress board, the Catholic Church and elsewhere. Let it be given to the people. People are in tears because they ring up and get a case officer and then the case officer cannot or will not take a call from them. It is a bureaucratic jungle and it must be changed. I want the Minister to take charge and wrest back control from these career people who are looking out for jobs to set up whatever new organisation or quango comes into being. I am talking about the chiefs, not the ordinary people answering the phones or the dinner people. They become chiefs overnight, get aloof, go for the fancy offices and think they are untouchable and can spend money whatever way they like. They rent nice fancy offices with fancy furniture, they travel and they have meetings, conferences and so on. It should be about the victims. For too long, the victims have suffered. We must get rid of this and stop it and get some kind of a mechanism to stop the spread of quangoland that has become an epidemic in this country. This is one place it should not be.

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