FG seeks closure of unnecessary agencies

Fine Gael claims €50m of taxpayers' money could be saved every year through the abolition of unnecessary government agencies and quangos.

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

Fine Gael says 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.