Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that, but there is an interesting point here. Will it give the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform more power in finding out what is happening in a Department than the line Minister? In theory, the Minister concerned has the line responsibility. Could the Minister get that and give it to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform? Deputy Howlin states there are potentially some impediments in the system and he has not been able to access it directly. Can the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform sidestep the Ministers if he wants to know what is happening in a programme, for example, in the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Education of Skills or the Department of Health? Has Deputy Howlin, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the power and they shall provide it to him, not even to the line Minister?