Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I know that. Opposition spokespersons have also visited it. Deputy Phil Hogan was there a number of weeks ago and was amazed to see the work being done there. There are houses, crèches, a resource centre and gardens. Vulnerable people in the parish are looked after. Management knows the people who are isolated and vulnerable. There was a time when only the priests of a parish knew who the old and vulnerable were. Under the directorship of Ger Maguire, vulnerable people are brought together every Friday and given a meal, including vegetables from the abbey garden. The team at the abbey must be congratulated. This is part of the amazing work being carried out by FÁS. I have no doubt there are other such projects throughout the country. It is unfortunate that projects such as this can be marred by vested interests and people who are out for their own gain.

When the Bill is enacted, I hope we will see a better system of checks and balances from top to bottom in FÁS. If consultants or outside agencies are given responsibility for evaluating FÁS projects, they must do their work and be seen to do so in accordance with the mandate given. If they do not, they should pay a price for their failure. We should look back at some of those who made evaluations to see if they fulfilled their mandate satisfactorily. This should be done in conjunction with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The two should be put together and a full assessment of the evaluations carried out.

Fine Gael supports the Bill. The sooner it is enacted the better, as there are more than 400,000 people out of work. There is much work to be done, for which the Bill can be a catalyst.