Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

As Senator Fitzgerald stated today, the prospect of the stuffing of so many State boards in the dying days of a Government or of any Administration is appalling. It is totally unseemly, does nothing to inspire confidence and is very damaging to politics. We are in enough trouble as it is without the unseemly haste with which this is to take place. The process is entirely lacking in objectivity, not to mention transparency. At a minimum, it should be halted until there is Oireachtas scrutiny. That is what should happen and, obviously, should apply also to any new Administration. The opportunity must be given to the new Administration to amalgamate and perhaps abolish a number of these boards. There must be less government and we must cut size. I appeal to the Leader to allow a motion in this House to alert the Government and halt this process.

I shall refer briefly to the matter raised by Senator O'Toole. I, too, do not wish to mention names but perhaps, as suggested, the Leader might see the individual in question over Christmas. It is a public interest matter because a public service obligation, PSO, is involved. What happened in Kerry is tragic. This business cut out the opposition because its rates were so cheap. Now it has cut flights and we can see what is happening to our tourism as a result. I strongly support the spirit of what Senator O'Toole said regarding that matter.