Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

We have no objection to today's Order of Business.

I welcome the Taoiseach's comments in the Dáil yesterday concerning Sinn Féin. Hard words were said and I welcome the way in which he put his case to the Sinn Féin leadership. The political establishment has finally woken up to the criminal threat posed to our State as a result of the continuation of a paramilitary political party — Sinn Féin-IRA. I welcome the emergence of this new reality.

For many years I have spoken about this threat and it is welcome that Members now seem to recognise the threat posed. The Taoiseach must also state the same to some members of the Fianna Fáil Party, particularly the Member who made the naive assumption before Christmas that this paramilitary political party would likely be in Government in the Republic in the future. That is not only naive but wrong. The new dispensation that the Taoiseach has enunciated needs to be continued with more hard words.

The report of Mr. Quigley's investigation into the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, asked for by the Government, will be published today. I have not commented on this issue and, therefore, have not prejudged the matter as we await the report's final outcome. However, having watched politics for some years, I note the Government now employs 71 full-time public relations people. I admit all Governments have done so in recent years, including the Fine Gael one. A total of 160 civil servants and others have the full-time job of making Ministers look good. A sum of €10 million is paid each year to keep these people in their jobs. It is not healthy as far too much money, on an annual basis, is wasted. Much of this work is really about electioneering. It breaches the line of the work civil servants have to do on behalf of Ministers in various Departments. If there is one lesson to be learned from this entire controversy, it is that we must seriously examine the large sums of State money spent annually at puffing up the public relations of Ministers, most of whom the public would not recognise.