Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

In fact, I wanted to speak about yesterday's debate on the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill. On a number of occasions, we mentioned the sunset clause, whereby we put in place amendments to the PRSI code and if, by the end of 2013, they were not seen to have worked, we would reverse them. We should set ourselves a similar challenge in regard to this Bill, which is putting in place a new Department of State which we all hope, for the sake of the country and our economic survival, will work and produce results. We should be brave enough to declare that, in a few years time, if we can see that the Department of public expenditure and reform has not worked and has not done what it says on the tin, we are willing to shut it down.

The last time there was a major departure in the creation-----