I wish to refer the Deputy to the Minister's replies to similar questions on this matter on 6 February, 12 March and 13 May 2003.
At present the commission has a chief executive and four of its permanent administrative staff. It is now at an advanced stage of recruiting an additional six members which will bring its full staffing complement to ten, as it requested. I have already indicated that the commission's ability to service the public is limited until such time as it has its full complement of staff. However, I believe this stage will now be achieved fairly quickly. The commission recently published its strategic plan for 2003-06. The plan sets out key areas of work on which the commission proposes to focus over the next four years. The commission's budget allocation for this year is €1.28 million.