Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for the outline of the national reform programme. I will make two or three brief comments. To what extent has each Department focused directly on how it can contribute to that reform programme? To what extent have the witnesses liaised with their colleagues throughout Europe to ensure that they and the witnesses are on the same track, approaching the situation in the same direction with the same objectives at the same time, and that no one country or jurisdiction is opting out of certain elements that might be beneficial to the European Union as a whole?

To what extent has the full degree of stress testing required been undertaken by each Department with a view to identifying the weaknesses that were there during the good times and putting in place the necessary structures to maximise the opportunities for growth, development and job creation? I ask that question because it appears that in the past, with regard to the Lisbon Agenda - the previous agenda - we waited until the end of the period covered by it to determine that it had not worked in the way we had thought. To what extent are the witnesses monitoring the performance of every Department and in turn relating to their colleagues in similar departments throughout Europe to ensure we are all moving in the same direction at the same time and that specific targets are being set and achieved along the way? To what extent do they review that on an annual basis and adjust their projections accordingly?