Ms Julie Sinnamon:

I thank the Chair for inviting me to come before the committee. It has been great to get the views of committee members, particularly at this time as I take over as chair of the implementation group. Some of them are beyond the remit of the group but I have heard many points that I will take back with me. They have given me great insight. I do not think we can underestimate the scale of the work involved. While Deputy Berry might say we should not have needed a commission report we have one that has been developed with 130 recommendations.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the number of reports that have been compiled over the years. We have the IOG. The high-level steering board is chaired by John Callinan of the Department of the Taoiseach and includes the Secretaries General of all the relevant Departments. There is also the external oversight board arising from the independent review group. There is a focus on the various reports that have been done. The transformation agenda has been set out very clearly and everybody is unanimous on the fact that it has to happen. This covers everything from HR and culture through to the budgets, capability and the investment required.

From my discussion with the Tánaiste, I believe there is a commitment to delivering. That fact is on the public record in many places. This is one of the key reasons I am happy to take on this role and ensure that when we have a detailed implementation plan, we have a very specific agenda of what needs to happen and when it needs to happen in order that we will hold the system to account and ensure that the plan is delivered. This is my objective.

From my dealings with those with whom I have interacted so far in the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence, I am satisfied that there is a real commitment to making it happen. However, I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge. From all of my work with transformation change, be it with companies in Ireland, Enterprise Ireland or anywhere else,I know that real change takes a lot of time. I understand the frustration that it has not moved as fast as people might have hoped. When we track through the number of initiatives that have been progressed over the past 12 months, we can see that it is much deeper than we might appreciate.

I thank the committee members and look forward to coming back at a future date with a report on progress made on the implementation plan. I will take back with me the various comments and inputs of the committee members. I really appreciate them.