Shane Ross (Independent)

The social partners are deeply embedded in the institutions of the State. It is not just a matter of them meeting the Taoiseach and telling him what to do, which they do anyway. Let me quote the example that has come up recently. Who is on the board of FÁS? There are four members of social partnership from the one side and four members on the other side, indulged, allowed, ignorant, powerful and paid. They are not answerable or accountable and they are still on the board of FÁS in powerful positions where this House had virtually no input — the Government had some. They are still sitting there and are still unaccountable. That issue needs to be addressed because these social partners, these outsiders, do not just sit on the board of FÁS, they have control over a large number of semi-State agencies into which we as a body have no input whatsoever. It is time for the Leader to address the issue of whether there is any point in people standing up here and talking learnedly, knowledgeably and with authority, as happened today on the interest rate, if we are not going to be listened to by the Government.