David Norris (Independent)

I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business that we take No. 28, motion 31, "That Seanad Éireann condemns utterly the disgraceful action of the Government in destroying the Combat Poverty Agency [which we are doing today by the way] and the Equality Agency and the gutting of the Irish Human Rights Commission and calls on the Government to rescind these decisions." It is a shameful day for the Seanad that Part 5, section 30 of this Bill purports to destroy the Combat Poverty Agency. From those Government benches last week we heard a clear statement that this was not a money-saving exercise and it would actually cost money. Let us not have lies about that. This proposal will cost money to kick the poorest and the weakest elements of our society. It is a complete and utter disgrace. It was done in the week in which we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We followed it up then. We got all mention of human rights removed from the Charities Bill despite the fact that these provisions exist in all the neighbouring jurisdictions, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.

However, it did not stop there. We attacked the Human Rights Commission and savaged it. We then had a 43% cut in the Equality Authority, absolutely destroying its work as everybody knows, and it was deliberately done. In other words every single element concerned with human rights is being eliminated. The Sunday Independent celebrated human rights week and this matter by ignoring it and instead devoting an entire page to a scurrilous attack on Mary Robinson. Thank God for The Irish Times, which on its front page yesterday gave us a good hint as to what may well have been in Senator Boyle's mind.