Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank the Vice Chairman. I apologise for the unavoidable absence of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd.

I agree that perhaps the best way for us to proceed is by way of questions and answers. There are some very large policy issues hanging or dependent on some of the subhead items which I am sure colleagues will want to take the opportunity to query. The gross Vote figure for 2013 is almost €416 million, with a net Vote figure of €173.4 million. As I said, there are some major projects in hand. The nature of the Department is such that there is a time lag between conception and execution in the case of major energy, telecoms and other projects. I am in the Vice Chairman's hands and happy to proceed in whatever way he wishes.