Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

It is important to point out that it was 16 October 2002 that the order for the formation of the new committees came before the Dáil.

I agree with Deputy Higgins, having served as Chairman of the Joint and Select Committees on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources during the previous Dáil, that a shortage of staff arose on numerous occasions because of the pressures on them. I must acknowledge that the staff of my committees, which included Ronan Lenihan and others, were excellent.

Perhaps the Minister of State will consider whether four committee rooms will be sufficient to service the proposed 21 committees. I agree with Deputy Higgins that being told a room had to be vacated at a particular time disrupted the business of the sitting committee. I also had the honour of chairing the Working Group of Committee Chairman and of visiting the UK with Mr. Art O'Leary to view the system there. I noted during that visit that there was one PR person for every seven committees. Our committee system is mirrored on the UK system and it is important a public relations person is appointed to serve a designate number of committees. This would allow committees to operate effectively in terms of getting their message out prior to a meeting or, in respect of the issuing of a report.

Committees perform invaluable work and they make an invaluable contribution to the democratic process. All debates in the committee system are held in public session. The current committee system adds value to the process by invigilating with the Department which it mirrors, the stakeholders and, the public. The Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources produced 11 reports in five years. These related to public policies which had a major impact on people. These reports were published following full consultation with the stakeholders, the public, the relevant Department and Minister. The committee examined the issues, commented and made recommendations and built a roadmap for policymakers to consider and follow. I am happy to say that a substantial number of the recommendations made in the 11 reports produced by the committee which I chaired for five years, were taken on board by the Department. I am glad our work was not in vain.

All of the reports were agreed by consensus. All parties were fully committed to the process in which they engaged as a committee. It is only fair to say that this committee was considered to have been one of the most active of the Twenty-Ninth Dáil. The Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources published three reports on broadband, one of which, published in 2004, included 12 recommendations. However, we were not happy that the Government was following up on these recommendations and later published another report which included 35 further recommendations. The third report, published prior to the end of the Twenty-Ninth Dáil, included two recommendations which meant that Government, stakeholders and others had taken note of what we had to say. There has been phenomenal growth in the roll out of broadband during the past 12 months.

This is but one area of activity in which the joint committee was involved. The committee also discussed salmon drift netting and produced a report which laid the foundations for the Department's report which was accepted by Government and is currently being implemented. It also produced a report on non-ionising radiation from mobile phone handsets and masts, the recommendations of which, I am pleased to put on the record of the House, were accepted by the Department which established an implementation group to follow through on it.

I believe the committee system has a major role to play in the workings of the Dáil and Seanad. I welcome the Minister of State's earlier announcement that the committees will be beefed up in terms of staff numbers and so on. I believe this will be helpful. I hope the Minister of State will take on board some of the suggestions made in my short contribution.

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