Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I support Senator Coffey's call for a debate on the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and the report on it. I find myself strongly disagreeing with what Senator O'Toole said, that it appears at this stage that the political classes may have had nothing to do with it. Even before this report is published, we can already be clear about two points. First, the set-up of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority is a classic example of the way Fianna Fáil has governed this country. If there is something to be done, they set up a body that is not accountable to anybody, give it a significant amount of power and money to do a job, and if anything goes wrong, they then wash their hands of it. When we look back at the way this country has been governed and the quangos which have been put in place to do it, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority will be seen as the best and the most damaging example of that.

The second point on which we are already clear is that ministerial involvement appears to have been needed to increase the ability of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to borrow for the purchase of land for which the taxpayer now must pay. It is not the political classes but one group within it, namely, Fianna Fáil, that has everything to do with this. This report is not only an investigation of the Dublin docklands, but may end up being, as I believe it will, an indictment of how Fianna Fáil has managed this country.

It is reported today that social welfare offices may be closed today as part of the ongoing industrial dispute that is taking place. I appeal to the people who could be involved in this decision not to do this. The last people who are responsible for what is happening in this country are those going to social welfare offices to collect their benefits. As awfully bad as it is to see one's income reduced, it is a hell of a lot worse to see one lose one's job. It would be unconscionable to see those people ending up having to pay a price for it.