Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

Since my appointment as Minister for Transport, my practice has been to keep open lines of communication with the agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, primarily by maintaining regular and appropriate levels of contact with the chairpersons of the boards of the agencies, or their equivalents in the case of certain regulatory bodies. Communication takes place in several ways including by telephone and by way of both formal and informal meetings and encounters. Occasionally I meet the full board of an agency in a structured setting. I have also on occasion met senior management as required from time to time to address matters of particular pertinence for a given agency.

These discussions, encounters and occasional formal meetings have addressed, inter alia, issues such as review of overall strategies, business plans, financial outlook, performance by agencies, safety, reform and modernisation of the various sectors, structures or possible rationalisation, updates on investment programmes or on specific projects, or proposals for legislative change.

Clearly, my engagement with the agencies focuses mainly on issues of strategic note but I am aware that my discussions are complemented by talks which take place on an ongoing basis between my officials and the management of the agencies operating under the aegis of the Department.

While this form of engagement and oversight has worked well in the past, I recognise that there is always scope for improvement. For this reason, earlier in 2008 the Department carried out a comprehensive review of its corporate governance relationship with the State agencies. As a result of this review, I wrote to the chairpersons of the State agencies under my remit last month announcing the introduction of a new approach to corporate governance. This initiative is aimed at: providing a clearer mandate to each of our State agencies and enhancing the Department's monitoring of their performance; ensuring continuing compliance by agencies with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies; and ensuring that more regular and structured engagement takes place at ministerial and senior management level with all agencies, as a means of reviewing performance and ensuring that the Department's objectives are being met.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Specifically, I have proposed to each agency the particular schedule of regular structured meetings, which should become the norm for that agency from now on, as meetings with me or alternatively with senior officials in the Department may be more appropriate in different cases. I propose to meet the boards of the larger agencies. The agenda at such meetings will cover my mandate and expectations, as well as the agency's performance and will address any other pertinent corporate governance issue arising in the context of the particular agency.

The responses I have received to date from the State agencies have been very positive and I am confident that this new approach will significantly improve the oversight of the agencies under my remit and ensure that the performance dialogue will become more structured, focused and productive with all the agencies concerned from now on.

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