Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

The Government appointed Deputy Pat Carey as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at my Department and the Department of Defence. Deputy Dick Roche was appointed Minister of State at my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European affairs.

As Chief Whip, the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, is primarily responsible for the organisation of Government business in the Dáil and the Government's programme of Dáil reform. He also oversees preparation of the Government's legislative programme. In addition, my statutory functions with regard to the Central Statistics Office have been delegated to him. I have also assigned responsibility for the active citizenship initiative in my Department to him. His role will be to drive the initiative forward, oversee implementation of the recommendations of the task force on active citizenship and, critically, promote the concept of active citizenship in all spheres of Irish life. I also expect him to monitor and identify additional measures which would strengthen our social interaction and broaden the manner in which we view our responsibilities as citizens in the modern Ireland. He will be supported in this work by a steering group chaired by Ms Mary Davis and the active citizenship office in my Department.

In a co-ordinating role in my Department, the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, chairs an interdepartmental co-ordinating committee on European Union affairs. The committee keeps under review and works to ensure coherence on the full range of issues on the European Union's agenda. It has a particular focus on the correct and timely transposition of EU legislation. In addition to these duties, the Minister of State has a heavy workload within the Department of Foreign Affairs, representing the Government at a wide range of EU and international meetings. In this context, he plays a central role in consolidating and further developing Ireland's positive bilateral EU relations, particularly with the new member states. He was extensively involved in the public debate on the reform treaty in the lead-up to the referendum. Similarly, he has responsibility for the Government's Communicating Europe initiative which aims to foster a broad public understanding of and identification with the issues on the EU agenda.

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