Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy in respect of optimism in provincial and rural Ireland. A number of the Leader companies faced quite a number of challenges. The funding approval coming very shortly will allow for a continuation of the very good work done by the Leader groups in communities throughout the country.

The Deputy mentioned ten posts for Irish staff. An officer from the Department of Finance was placed in the European division with the German finance Ministry. An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs was placed with the policy co-ordination unit in the Foreign Affairs Council. An official from the Department of Agriculture, at assistant agricultural inspector grade, was placed with the European Commission, dealing with climate, finance and deforestation. A principal officer from the Department of Justice and Equality is working with the Commission in the Directorate General dealing with the support group for Cyprus.

An official from the Revenue Commissioners is dealing with the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union, TAXUD, and the development of a one-stop shop for the EU VAT system and e-services, simplification of VAT systems and so on. An official from the Department of Finance based in the Commission is dealing with fiscal policy and surveillance. Another official from the Department of Finance is dealing with retail financial services and consumer policy, while another is dealing with the secretariat of the EPC banking union, the future of the EMU and the preparation of ECOFIN and Eurogroup meetings. These officials will get experience in these other offices and will bring that experience to the Department. It will lead us to a point at which Ireland has had a really strong permanent representation in Brussels as well as people working in the different institutions who have added greatly to both our information level and our capacity to influence matters.

There was a reduction of 16% in the administrative subhead for the Office of the Attorney General. The number of legal staff increased by eight in the past two years. As Deputy Rabbitte will be aware, the pressure on the Office of the Attorney General in terms of capacity in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has been enormous. Some of the complicated Bills that were put through and are in passage through the Oireachtas demand an inordinate amount of time. Let us take the example of the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014, on which the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has been working flat out over the past four or five weekends to be able to draw all of the different threads together. It is difficult to get a continuous stream of competent people, so I thank those who have given an extraordinary commitment to drafting the legislation for consideration by the Oireachtas.

The Civil Service renewal plan was published recently and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, is very anxious that it be followed through. It will be monitored by my Department also. There was a extensive consultation with staff, who gave a commitment to make this work. When people approach the public service, they know they will get the expected high-quality service.