Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I start by congratulating the Minister and her Ministers of State, Deputy Breen and Deputy Halligan, on their appointments. I wish the Minister the best. I also wish the Chairman the best of luck. I am sure we will all be very well behaved most of the time.

A new Government, Minister and programme for Government have been put in place.

In terms of the spend presented to the Dáil last year, it was done with a particular political programme in mind. As there is a new Dáil, Minister, ministerial team and programme for Government, how has the spend changed? Presumably, it is now based on the new political priorities. Some of the things agreed to in January, for example, have now changed; therefore, some of the ways in which the money is being spent have also changed.

I congratulate the officials on coming in on budget. Perhaps we should send some of them to the Department of Health on secondment because they might save the country a great deal of money. It is fantastic to see expenditure coming in on budget, almost to the euro. The mix of how money is directed may have changed with the arrival of the new ministerial team and so forth. I would like to hear the Minister's views on same.

Would the Chairman prefer if I asked all of my questions together?