Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 23, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following:

"(3) On or before 31 January each year, the Executive shall lay before each House of the Oireachtas details of the advisers engaged or consulted during the preceding year along with details of the amount payable to such advisers.".

This amendment arises from a recent announcement by the Minister for Health and Children that her predecessor spent €30 million on 120 reports. This figure is set to rise as the full figures are not yet available. A considerable amount of taxpayers' money was wasted under the previous Minister, as is evident from the fact that many of the reports he commissioned were never seen again after their being issued. It is even the case that reports were produced on reports, which would be comical if it were not so serious.

My amendment seeks that, "On or before 31 January each year, the executive shall lay before each House of the Oireachtas details of the advisers engaged or consulted during the preceding year along with details of the amount payable to such advisers." This is justifiable because the money payable is public money. We recently heard that an adviser to a different Department was being paid €1,200 per day, which is even more than the Taoiseach earns. One cannot blame the public for being uneasy and concerned about this. It is regrettable that the former Minister for Health and Children did not release information on the amounts payable to advisers — it took the new Minster to do so. This amendment is to prevent this from happening in the future.