Ahern denies he decided to 'kill off' Equality Authority

MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern denied that he had decided to "kill off" the Equality Authority.

The charge was made by Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte, who said that it had suffered a 43 per cent budgetary cut.

"The authority is being singled out in a vindictive manner because officials in the Department of Justice do not like what it has been doing," said Mr Rabbitte.

Mr Ahern said the authority had been established in 1997 with an annual budget of €378,000. It now had an annual budget of €5.9 million, although it had been reduced this year, and, over its 11-year existence, it had received funding of €47 million.

"I decided three months ago to concentrate on prisons and tackling crime," Mr Ahern added.

The Minister said that when he had examined the authority's annual accounts last week, he was astounded to see that it was paying an annual rent of €402,000 for its premises in Harcourt Street, Dublin. It spent a further €30,000 or €40,000 on parking.

"A premises has been rented in Roscrea for €102,000. Twenty staff are already in place at that location in line with the Government's decision on decentralisation," he added.

Mr Ahern said that if the staff relocated to Roscrea, the organisation would save about €300,000 in rent alone.

"Further savings of approximately €22,000 will accrue from the proposed reduction in public relations activity," he added.

"It is possible for the authority to save €10,000 in consultancy fees."

He said that funds were still being provided to those involved with the 2007 European Year of Equality. Savings in that regard could yield €320,000 .

Mr Ahern said that some €35,000 was spent on the annual anti-racism week. The authority had engaged in a costly and controversial once-off anti-ageism campaign at a cost of €230,000.

He added that he had made it clear to the authority, and all other bodies under the aegis of the department, that "he did not want them to produce any more glossy brochures or reports" and make them available on disk instead.

Mr Rabbitte claimed the Minister was humiliating himself. "Every morning my desk seems like it is covered in confetti because of the number of glossy brochures, with photographs of the Minister, landing on it," he added.

Fine Gael spokesman Charlie Flanagan said that none of the 15 staff due to transfer to Roscrea had worked with the authority in the first instance. The relocation would lead to problems of experience and expertise, he added.

Mr Ahern said that nobody was indispensable and the authority would be able to function as well in Roscrea as anywhere.