One of the Oireachtas's smallest committees is struggling under the weight of one of the biggest workloads, it was claimed today.
The Sub-Committee on European Scrutiny, which studies weighty EU regulations and directives, has called for more resources to carry out its duties.
The all-party body, which is usually only attended by five TDs and Senators, scrutinised 440 EU documents in 2005 and referred them to Government departments or other committees where appropriate.
Fine Gael's Bernard Allen, the committee's chairman, said the sub-committee was "a vital legislative link between the EU and the Oireachtas.
"There is a huge amount of documents going through the sub-committee [the work] is being done adequately at the moment, but there is mounting pressure on staff, and we may not be able to do our job as well into the future if we don't get extra resources.
The committee, which meets every fortnight, submits regular reports to the Joint Committee on European Affairs.
PA