David Norris (Independent)

When will the Minister come to the House to address with Members matters such as the scrapping of the Combat Poverty Agency when poverty is being created all around us? The Government has halved the budget for the Equality Tribunal and is proceeding with its decentralisation to Portarlington. This is all in advance of a report it has commissioned about efficiency and value for money. Before it gets the report, it will implement its decisions regarding the Competition Authority, the Equality Authority, the Combat Poverty Agency and the Data Protection Commissioner.

What has the Government not hit? We have heard from Senator O'Toole that prosecutions of criminals may not be able to proceed efficiently. What is the Government doing to the Competition Authority that stuck its nose into certain negotiations? When that authority was set up, the Government did not even provide for competition for its own executives until the Seanad inserted that for it.