Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I am somewhat shocked by what Senator Boyle said in reference to unelected people within this Government having an influence on policy and major decisions. I do not need to point out to Senator Boyle that he is in the Government. The people to whom these unelected officials report are politicians who head up the Government in the first place. It seems the issue is not so much about the excessive influence of officials who report to the Government of which Senator Boyle is a member, but rather the lack of influence of the Green Party to stop or reverse decisions it opposes. It is a terrible precedent for this House to stand up here and assign responsibility for political decisions to officials within Departments, rather than to the Ministers who head up those Departments in the first place.