Mr. David Hegarty:

Deputy Kelleher's comments on to the disparate nature of the competitiveness agenda and that many Departments have a stake in that regard are absolutely correct. I wish to mention the role of the National Competitiveness Council, the secretariat of which is provided by the Department. It brings together a variety of actors from the enterprise sector, trade unions, social partners and, crucially, Departments and provides a forum where we can surface these competitiveness issues, some of which are the responsibility of Departments other than ours. It is a forum - the Secretary General mentioned others such as the National Skills Council - where we can discuss these issues with the other Departments that have primary policy responsibility for those areas.