10/04/2008

FG Slams Quango Cronyism

Fine Gael claims €50m of taxpayers' money is being wasted every year on quangos full of government cronies.

The party says there are currently more than 1,000 such agencies in the state, many of which do exactly the same work, or whose work overlaps.

Leader of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny last week spoke of a quango cull, he said: "In the last 10 years or so we've had 250 agencies set up, and the Programme for Government says we are going to have another 16 in the near future.

"We could save up to €50m annually by not having so much fragmented Government."

Fine Gael claim the Government is setting up these quangos every time there is a problem to deal with and is then staffing many of them with political cronies in reward for services to a political party.

It says there are significant overlaps in the work of agencies like the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency, or the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Committee and the Health and Safety Authority.

(DW/JM)

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