Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

——he has prioritised the fight against crime. The Minister cannot slide so easily out of this. He cannot undermine entirely the effectiveness of these bodies by making these disproportionate cutbacks. We have obligations under the Constitution, EU law and international conventions, and these are the bodies that ensure that the State and State bodies uphold the principles to which it has signed up.

I think that it does not go unnoticed by the Minister that the president of the Irish Human Rights Commission is a former Fine Gael Senator. I believe that is why the Minister is not acting in good faith with respect to the cutbacks for these bodies.