Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I am happy to support the motion on the dormant accounts fund and refer to the manner in which the Government is turning it into a political slush fund. I listened to the Minister of State's speech and want to pick up on two elements. He justified the Government's decision to fundamentally alter the terms of the fund and completely change the nature of the board and how the funds are dispersed. The Minister of State talked about the need for accountability and transparency. He said there were two routes that could be followed to deal with what he termed an unfair and unrealistic expectation on one person, the part-time chairman, to give a few hours to the board every month and the five staff working in the dormant accounts secretariat. Let us accept this is the case and there is a need for reform. One of the routes the Minister of State suggested was the establishment of an independent agency with a large staff and CEO etc. He said this "would have led to an inordinate amount of the funds being dissipated on administration". As it is too expensive to establish an agency that would give full accountability, be independent of the Government and could have public trust, the Government chose the second route.

It would be interesting if one were to take this logic and apply it across the board regarding the disbursement of all Government funds. The Minister of State has just undermined the establishment in legislation of a huge number of boards that have been set up to administer funds in an open, transparent and accountable manner. It would be worth spending money on the proper administration, if the Minister of State says it is required, so there might be public trust. This is not the Government's money but the public's money which has been sitting in dormant accounts. All parties agree it should be used for special needs groups and disadvantaged groups etc., as was envisaged in the original legislation.

How the fund is administered is hugely important. While it is not its money, the Government is acting as though it is. It is like money from the lottery. The Government grabs it, spends it on its pet projects, ensures its friends are supported and this is conveniently done a few weeks before election time. That is how the public sees this is happening and it is how it sees the disbursement of lottery funds.