Mr. Martin Fraser:

There are two things here. If one is talking about the Department of Health, the Secretary General there is responsible for all €22 billion every year. In that sense, he has to sign off on it all.

As to whether he has discretion to allocate money or develop policy, that is a separate question. I think it is probably different in each Department. I assume that is what is really being asked of me rather than what one signs off on. Obviously these things must be consistent with Government policy, there has to be authority for them and so on. That is what guides what the Secretary General can do.