Mr. Martin Fraser:

With respect to the previous Secretary General of the Department of Health, the best way to describe what happened is that when the Government was formed, which was late last June, there were a number of significant changes of Department, the most significant of which was the creation of an entirely new Department, that of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which the Deputy referenced. We found in terms of decisions that could be made that there were a few unusual situations. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Department of Social Protection had the same Minister as did the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment. At one point it was thought the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment would be merged but in the end they ended up being separate Departments. We had at that time a vacancy in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage because the previous Secretary General had retired. I was asked when joining the meeting if I had been down in the Convention Centre Dublin and I remember discussing this with an individual in the convention centre on the day the Government was formed. What happened is this, the former Secretary General of the Department of Health – I am not using names, which I think is the correct way to proceed, based on what the Chairman said - the man Deputy Stanley referenced, went to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science. The former Secretary General of the Department of Transport was moved to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which the Minister, Deputy O’Brien has just taken over. An acting Secretary General was appointed in the Department of Transport and an acting Secretary General was appointed in the Department of Health. In terms of the Department of Transport, things moved fairly conventionally. There was a top level appointments committee, TLAC, process held last autumn and an appointment was made.