Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a coherence to the brief I hold. On one side, the climate action, waste and energy elements are natural bedfellows because they are about better use of resources, so I think that is correct. On the other side, I have much of the digital technology, broadcasting and post communications element. Again, there is a certain coherence here. They are very disparate elements but there are huge challenges in those areas. Digital safety is a good example. There is responsibility in six Departments for it. Rather than trying to consolidate a great number of Departments, we must learn to work across Departments. In the case of digital safety, there is a cross-Government plan. It was endorsed and launched by the Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach is accountable for the delivery of the project to a certain degree, although the Department of Education and Skills is the lead entity. That is the way we work. One cannot continually restructure Departments because one sees that an element of coherence may not be fully there. Although my Department is disparate in its range, there is a coherence and my job is to ensure that we make things work.