Mr. Dermot McCarthy:

Not necessarily Deputy. I think in the formulation of policy and the furnishing of advice, the Department of the Taoiseach, through myself, would have provided a core element of information and advice, primarily in relation to the conduct of Government business, in other words, preparation for Cabinet and the management of Cabinet committees and then the particular responsibilities that the Taoiseach would discharge personally. But the Taoiseach would also be in possession of advice from other sources, including his political advisers, his ministerial colleagues outside the Cabinet framework and obviously from other, more direct personal engagements.