Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

It was very thoughtful of Deputy Coveney to have one eye on the box.

The OECD report said the public service has played a key role in ensuring that the right economic, regulatory, educational and social conditions are in place to facilitate growth and development. It is easy to knock the public service — in fact, it is almost a reflex reaction. Some people like to knock the public service but the OECD report has patted it on the back and we should reflect on that fact. It is relevant to what is going on. The report said that the approach taken by Ireland in trying to assess its public service as a whole is a first in terms of reviewing and seeking to benchmark the public service. Again, that is very positive.

On the negative side, there is the issue of a lack of integration between public agencies. I have occasion tomorrow to speak on an issue relating to acquired brain injury. The advocates of that disability sector complain that they must enter details each time they look for local authority accommodation, health services, social services and advocacy support. They require connectivity between public agencies and the way to do that is through the technology available. We have a great opportunity to push this forward. I hope this motion will provide an impetus to make the necessary improvements.

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