THE GOVERNMENT was yesterday unable to say if its decision to integrate the Combat Poverty Agency into the Department of Social and Family Affairs would provide any savings to the taxpayer.
The independent role of the agency, which has previously criticised the effectiveness of Government anti-poverty policies, will end as a result of plans to "rationalise" State-funded agencies.
Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said she did not know if money would be saved as a result of merging the agency into a unit within her department.
However, she said she hoped the transfer would allow for more resources to be focused on research and less on advertising and other costs. "The process started [in] June 2007 with a review of the role of the agency and an examination of how it could be more effective. Although the main impetus was not financial, the amount currently spent on the agency is €4.6 million, although some staff will transfer," Ms Hanafin said.
"There are costs with regard to staffing, community projects and so on, but there is much information in the review about how these things should be handled."
Fine Gael's social affairs spokeswoman Olwyn Enright said the manner in which the Combat Poverty Agency was being abolished was deplorable. She said a social welfare Bill published last week - which provides for the introduction of announcements in the Budget such as increases in social assistance payments - did not contain any mention of the agency.
However, it emerged yesterday that legislation paving the way for the integration of the independent body into the department will be brought forward at the committee stage of the Bill.
"This is totally disingenuous. The Government knew it was going to silence the Combat Poverty Agency when it published the Social Welfare Bill last week, but instead tried to brush this under the carpet" Ms Enright said. "By introducing legislative steps to do this at committee stage, the Government will be able to guillotine the Bill and it may be impossible to get our amendments tabled."
Labour spokeswoman on social affairs Róisín Shortall said the Government was trying to "muzzle" the agency, which had provided valuable advice on how to target poverty over the last two decades.
The Minister also faced criticism over plans to limit numbers entitled to the jobseekers' payment without a means test.
