THE proliferation of State agencies must be contained, the Fianna Fail spokeswoman on enterprise, Ms Mary O'Rourke, said.
Speaking on a Forfas report on shaping strategy in the 21st century, she said that apart from Forfas, Forbairt, IDA Ireland, the Irish Trade Board, Bord Bia and FAS there were also 35 county enterprise boards, 35 area partnership boards and 36, Leader groups. In all there were as many as 150 State agencies dealing with enterprise matters. There were 50 different EU and domestic funds and sources and eight Ministers and Ministers of State with responsibility for enterprise.
"Allied to this we now have the absolute nonsense of the decision by the Minister for Education to set up 10 new regional boards of education. These will prove to be paradises for procrastination, bunkers of bureaucracy," she said. They would lead to duplication and confusion for consumers and claimants.
The number of staff involved was vast. She believed that having produced its report on strategy, Forfas should now be integrated with the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
Introducing the report, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, said it was ambitious and gave a framework to consider the long term impact of choices facing us. The issues could be summed up in the word "competitiveness". That meant more than costs alone. It embraced institutions and people skills.