Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have one minute and 30 seconds to speak. I actually supported curtailing this debate because it was all done and dusted when the Government was announced. There is a simple sentence that describes this ministerial appointment splurge. It is "The Late Late Show", with one for everyone in the audience. That is what it seems like. I can take on board that we have additional tasks and we have to deal with a strange new regime in the USA and a very dangerous world. We do need more people to look at more things but that was already done five years ago. This is now a case of handing out the goodies. Rather than Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael saying they will have to do without a couple of Ministers because they have done a deal with the Regional Independent Group, they have added more Ministers. It is like going out to the shop, buying an extra pack of sweets and handing them out like you are everyone's best friend while having a whole packet to yourself. It does not work and people see through it.

Comparisons with other countries do not work in relation to Ireland because the stark fact is that this is one of the most centralised countries in the world. If we do not have Ministers, we do not have a properly functioning local government. Councillors have no power. As Deputy Murphy said, let us have a referendum on whether we need to increase the number of Ministers or need to give good, devolved government to the regions and have a smaller number of Ministers in Government focused on the issues.

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