Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding contacts he has had with the Equality Authority regarding difficulties they will face as a result of his decision to cut its budget by 42% for 2009; the reason he did not accept the suggestion put forward by the board of the authority for alternative cuts that would have resulted in savings of 32%; his views on the resignation of a person (details supplied) as chief executive and his view that the budget cut imposed by his Department had rendered the authority unviable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47438/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset I wish to state the Government's absolute commitment to the principles of equality and the elimination of discrimination as enunciated in much equality legislation passed by the Oireachtas. I commend the work of the Equality Authority and I state my commitment to ensuring a secure and viable future for the Agency.

The Government and its predecessors promoted the legislation which earmarked €47 million for the Equality Authority since 1997, increasing from an initial budget of €378,000 and rising to €5.9 million in 2007. The Government and its predecessors increased the number of staff in the Equality Authority to 53 in 2007.

We will continue to earmark substantial taxpayer resources to the Equality Authority to allow it to carry out its core functions as per the legislation. Naturally, when the national finances permit, we will also ensure that the budget of the Equality Authority is appropriately increased.

I am requesting all agencies which fall under the remit of my Department, including the Equality Authority, to engage in coming months with the expenditure review group which will take an independent analysis of the position relating to their budgets, efficiencies and the capacity to fulfil their core functions.

I accept that 2009 will be a difficult year for all public bodies, including the Equality Authority and other agencies in the justice area. However, I am satisfied there is sufficient funding for the authority to enable it to discharge its core functions. I welcome the statement this week from the board of the authority declaring its commitment and determination to continue to work effectively and independently for the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of equality in our society.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Is it not hypocritical in the extreme of the Minister to trot out some mealy-mouthed platitudes in the House about his commitment to equality, when he has driven out the chief executive from the Equality Authority and has effectively broken up the agency? Is it not the case that the Equality Authority cannot possibly discharge its functions under the strictures now on it? What is the point of reiterating that this Government has done this, that or the other? The agency has only been in existence for approximately ten years and Fianna Fáil has been in government throughout that time. The Minister could take any agency and multiply its funding by ten years' budgets to give the impression of enormous largesse and support.

Is the Minister proud of the fact that he has driven out the chief executive, a man who has won commendations on all sides in respect of his performance and the independent and courageous manner in which he discharged his duties with integrity? Is the Minister satisfied that the agency has effectively been undermined because it cannot and will not be able to discharge its functions in the future?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The ethos of my political party on its formation was to bring equality into a highly divided and class-ridden society. I take pride in the fact that all of the equality legislation that has been passed by this House has been introduced by Fianna Fáil-led Governments, of which neither Deputy Rabbitte nor his party, the so-called Labour Party, the party of the people, was a member.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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That is not true.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As for the specific issue of the Equality Authority, Members on all sides, particularly those in the Opposition, have been constantly raising the valid issue of spending on public relations and consultancies. It will do no harm to refer to the 2007 report, which Deputy Rabbitte should have read before coming into the House, on the Equality Authority. In 2007, it spent €220,000 on public relations and €100,000 on consultants. A total of €614,000 was spent on the European Year of Equal Opportunities, half of which came from European funding and half from its own budget, giving a net expenditure of €300,000. It also spent €350,000 on an anti-racist week and €230,000 on a national campaign against ageism, the expenditure on which was criticised by the Opposition in this House. It spent €184,000 on publications and, in effect, €440,000 on rent of premises in Dublin. However, it could make savings by going down and spending only €120,000 on rental accommodation in Roscrea, where 15 employees of the Equality Authority already reside. When Members on the other side of the House raise the issue of consultancies and expenditure, it is valid to go through such expenditure to ascertain where there can be savings.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I wish to facilitate a brief supplementary question.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Again, I revert to the point that I made previously——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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If the Minister will have regard to the Chair please.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to finish my point, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I wish to again emphasise——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I must inform the Minister that a strict time limit applies, including the time for ministerial responses.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I will revert to the issue later.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister should allow the Chair to operate.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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While Members do not have time at present to deal with the novel proposition that the purpose of Fianna Fáil coming into existence was to address our class-ridden society, they may return to it at another time. What does the Minister purport to have told Members in his reply, having read out various expenditure headings? Which of them does he suggest is improper? Is it not the task of the Equality Authority to deal with issues such as racism? If excessive rental costs for the headquarters have been incurred, who approved them? Why did someone in the Minister's Government not do something about it over the past 11 years?

Can the Minister assure the House that the forcing out of Mr. Niall Crowley has nothing to do with the Equality Authority's referral to the Garda Síochána of an allegation that the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, while head of the Prison Service, had breached the Employment Equality Acts? If the Minister is so interested in saving money, is it not the case that the board members of this organisation used to serve free gratis for years until the appointment of the new board by the Minister, the members of which now are paid a fee of €10,000 each? Can the Minister answer these questions?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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First, I will not take lectures from Deputy Rabbitte on the genesis of my party, particularly as I am not altogether sure what was his political genesis, given that he has been in so many political parties since he entered this House and beforehand. As for the Equality Authority, I validly listed out areas in which I believe savings can be effected because we are now in a different situation. When I was dealing with the Estimates a number of months ago, I made the point I was trying to make in my earlier response. As I stated during my last Question Time, I told my officials that my number one priority in my Department was tackling crime. This is the reason that, for example, Operation Anvil's budget has been increased by €1 million from €20 million to €21 million, as well as an increase of 20% in CAB's budget——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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That is the reason the Minister cut the authority's budget by 42%?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——and I am keeping Garda numbers on the street. I wished to concentrate on the issue of policing and tackling crime.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister knows this is entirely disingenuous.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I stated that, unfortunately, all the other agencies that comprise the soft part of my Department were obliged to take a significant cut right across the Department.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Did everyone take a cut of 42%?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. I made the point to the Equality Authority people——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The rest of the agencies experienced cuts of 2%, 4% and 6%.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——when they came into my office recently——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister, without interruption

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——that, to a certain extent, the fact that the Department only deducted 1% from the National Disability Authority has been hung around my neck. I made this point strongly to the members of the authority's board and the chief executive when I met them last week. I told them the Government had made a specific decision when preparing the Estimates and the budget that people with disabilities would be those least affected by cuts. This is the reason there is such a small cut in respect of that authority.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Go raibh maith agat a Aire. Ceist Uimh. 3.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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What about the board members?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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However, when one examines this expenditure, it is valid to ask a question on amounts such as €184,000 on publications——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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When did the board members get——

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——€220,000 on public relations——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister is filibustering.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——€184,000 on publications——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister is filibustering. He is spoofing.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——and €100,000 on consultants. No, I am not filibustering.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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What is the answer to the two questions?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I must say the Deputy is adding to the nasty——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister is filibustering.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister must conclude his reply.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——leak that came from people.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Nasty?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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It reflects more on those who made such a nasty leak against a good public servant.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Is that all the Minister has to say?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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It is a disgrace. As usual, the Deputy comes into this House, as he did before many years ago——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister is flimflamming. He is filibustering.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Ceist Uimh. 3, in ainm an Teachta Charles Flanagan.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——when he tried to denigrate the church.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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He is filibustering——

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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He is at it again and I am not filibustering. I have given the Deputy all the facts.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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——and he did not answer any of the questions.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I have given all the facts to the Deputy.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputies will resume their seats.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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What the Deputy did is a disgrace in respect of a good public servant. This leak was a despicable effort to try to blacken him and the Deputy is adding to it.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister will not disobey the Chair.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I will not come into this House——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I will suspend——

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——and allow that man to denigrate someone who is not present to defend himself.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister will resume his seat.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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This is a disgrace and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle should be intervening.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister will——

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Leas-Cheann Comhairle should be intervening to ask him to withdraw those remarks about a good public official.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister will resume his seat or leave the House.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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No, I will not.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I did not denigrate anyone.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy also will——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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However, the Minister did not answer the question.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy Rabbitte will resume his seat.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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He did not answer it.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy Rabbitte will resume his seat.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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This was a mean-minded act in which the Minister colluded. Moreover, the Minister did not answer any of the questions he was asked.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I did.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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This is the final——

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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His response was to filibuster and to wrap the Secretary General around him.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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If there is continued disorder, I will suspend the House. This is the final session before Christmas and I would have hoped for a civil atmosphere in the House. I deeply regret the statement by the Minister that he would refuse to obey the Chair. All Deputies, on whatever side of the House, will obey the Chair. We will continue in an orderly fashion and if there is any further disorder, I will suspend the House forthwith. Question No. 3 is called.