Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.

As I have outlined to the House previously, most recently on 4 May, following the publication of the Quigley report, additional procedures were approved by the Government for incorporation into the Cabinet handbook which were made available on my Department's website. Those procedures have given the Secretary General to the Government and the Government secretariat a role in examining certain procurements where there is an element of direct service to a Minister or where a Minister has suggested a name to be included in a procurement.

There is no special interdepartmental group in my Department with regard to the application of the procedures and there was at no time an intention to establish such a group. Any workload arising from the application of these guidelines is being handled within existing resources in the Government secretariat. To date, no cases coming within the terms of the additional procedures have been notified to the Secretary General to the Government.

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