‘Unaccountable’ Bord Snip under fire

THE Government was yesterday criticised for the lack of accountability of the membership of An Bord Snip Nua.

At the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference in Tralee, ICTU general secretary David Begg told Taoiseach Brian Cowen: “It is often said that if you are a good gardener you should get your worst enemy to prune your roses. I don’t think this really applies to the public service. If you think of some of the people who are foremost in that particular committee they are people who have a long and established track record of philosophical criticism of the public service. They don’t actually believe in it and there is no one on that committee who will suffer in anyway as a result of the cutbacks it recommends.”

Mr Cowen had defended the work of An Bord Snip, saying that Ireland needed a public service that carried the confidence of the wider society.