John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this motion and debate tonight. I am disappointed at the manner in which Fine Gael has tabled this motion. To be blunt, I agree the whole area of Dáil reform needs to be the subject of debate and discussion, but this needs to be done in a detailed manner. The motion as presented tonight, which refers to reducing the number of Ministers of State from 20 to eight, is populist and the public would agree with it, but there is no indepth analysis as regards background and what should and should not be done. It is in isolation from any other Dáil reform. In that regard, I am very disappointed that Fine Gael has isolated a particular issue rather than dealing with the whole area of Dáil reform. I do not believe one can be done without the other and this motion is very populist. Of course that is what the public is saying. It can be applied to the number of Deputies, Members of the Seanad or whatever and the public will agree. However, the point is that the motion calls for a reduction in the number of Ministers of State from 20 to eight without the supporting evidence or background information as to why.

I know the time available is short but, specifically as a Minister of State, it is important for me to outline, as one of the 20, what I am doing. Otherwise, it might be perceived that the role of a Minister of State is irrelevant. However, we should not be dealing with this as a stand-alone item. I mean this and, in that regard, I am disappointed that Fine Gael has tabled the motion in such a manner. I am all for Dáil reform. I have been a Member for a good number of years, and have looked at the committees and the manner in which we do our business. When the Opposition calls for a manual vote, 166 Members must walk through the lobbies which takes 15 minutes. That is the equivalent of one person losing one working week. We can do our business and make our protests in a much more effective and efficient manner, and that calls for real debate.

I mention some of the things I do as Minister of State. Many people will know I have responsibility for the national drugs strategy. We are in the process of developing a new national drugs strategy which will run from now until 2016. It is fairly detailed and specific. While we are devising and developing the new strategy, there is much work to be done around implementation.

However, I deal with many other issues and that is often missed. As Minister of State, I have had the privilege to introduce and complete legislation, and I use the word "privilege" because Ministers of State do not often get that opportunity. The charities legislation was quite complex and I acknowledge that through dialogue and discussions, I had the co-operation of Members of this House and the Upper House. I acknowledge the contribution of the Upper House in bringing in this comprehensive legislation. While we did not agree on every issue, the legislation introduced has the support of all Members of both Houses. As we implement the legislation, I expect that support will continue.

Apart from the drugs strategy and the charities legislation, I also have responsibility for areas relating to community affairs, specifically issues for older people, including alarms, volunteering, the local development and social inclusion programmes, the community development programmes and area partnerships. It is easy to brush that aside but we travel the country, meet people and implement programmes. I acknowledge that the senior Minister in my Department has, through Cabinet, devolved specific responsibilities to me on which I work.

It is important Ministers of State state clearly their areas of responsibility and the work they do. Many colleagues from the Opposition will say I am the Minister of State with responsibility for the drugs strategy but I also have responsibility for other areas. It is only when one goes through the diary and the work schedule that one realises that the other areas occupy equal time and that they are of equal importance. It is easy to dismiss that.

I am all for debate on Dáil reform but I am disappointed that we have picked a specific issue to debate. We cannot debate one issue in isolation. It is an unfair situation. Many colleagues opposite acknowledge that.

See this speech in context