Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I do not wish to appear cynical about the task force on active citizenship. However, prior to the 2007 general election there was a great fanfare when the task force was established. Very little has been done since the publication of the task force report.

Deputy Carey, as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, is responsible for the task force. How many meetings has he had with the task force or the review group since becoming Government Chief Whip? The report recommended a new honours system which would recognise outstanding contributions by individuals to Irish society and would be part of a wide-ranging plan to promote higher levels of civic engagement. We all know how important this is for community and voluntary activists. Can the Minister of State give the House an update on this? The report recommended that a national presidential citizens award be awarded to a limited number of people selected annually through an independent process based on nominations from members of the public. Could the Minister of State provide the House with further detail of this worthy project and tell us exactly how it has progressed to date? This is only one part of the task force's report.

Deputy Carey also spoke about community and development projects and said the Government has built them up in recent years. I do not disagree. However, the Government is now pulling them asunder. It was all very well to throw money at worthy projects when it was available. Deputy Carey says many of these projects are now duplicated. His Department should look at the productivity and efficiency of these projects. Why has he not done so?

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