Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Horgan and Mr. O'Halloran. I would like to declare an interest. I put Mr. Horgan forward for appointment in 2010 on the basis of his successful track record until then. I am delighted to see that record continue. I wish him well.

I ask Mr. Horgan or Mr. O'Halloran to go into more detail on the BeSMART project, which is an excellent example for any State organisation of how to reduce the compliance burden. I used to discuss this issue with Mr. Horgan on a regular basis. The project has worked really well and is relatively cost-effective.

Mr. Horgan was quite critical of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. He spoke about a "lack of support from the Department" and suggested that "leadership and smart thinking" are needed on the part of the Department. Can he outline how the Department's approach is affecting the day-to-day operation of the authority? It seems that there are difficulties with communication or delivery.

Mr. Horgan mentioned that the number of inspections carried out by the authority has fallen. Its inspection target for 2013 was 12,850. Is that target, which represents a significant decrease compared to the position some years ago when approximately 16,000 inspections were being carried out, likely to be met? Has the figure decreased for budget reasons or for technology reasons?