Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I will propose to the Government the Departments to which they will be nominated and some other changes in the allocation of responsibilities to existing Ministers of State, including the appointment of Deputy Curran as Chief Whip.

First, I want to outline the context in which these changes are taking place. In the past two years, the world has changed radically and we as a country have been changing with it. For the bulk of this time, my Government's focus has been on stabilising the deterioration in the public finances and banking sector as well as protecting those who have fallen on hard times and continuing to protect and create as many jobs as possible. By taking some hard decisions and making tough choices, we are now in position to rebuild from a more solid base and focus on the future with confidence. Although I believe the worst is over, I also believe that as a country we have major challenges and decisions to make, but we are on the right track and I know that, if we remain committed and resolved, we can overcome the obstacles we are facing.

As our focus shifts to generating economic growth again, so must the Government adapt to the new challenges and sharpen its focus on new tasks. This requires changes in how Government works. In approaching the reconfiguration of Departments, the starting point has to be clarity about the objectives to be achieved. The changes I am making are intended to ensure that political leadership and administrative capacity are aligned with the core objectives of economic recovery, job creation and support for those who have lost their jobs. In particular, I am strengthening our approach to supporting innovation and overcoming barriers to structural change, responding better to the needs of unemployed people, supporting productivity and growth through skills development, maintaining progress in a coherent and strategic way towards important social policy goals and accelerating the pace of modernisation of the public service.

I do not believe in making structural changes for their own sake. Too often, changes in structures can be pursued to disguise a lack of clear priorities or the determination to implement them. This Government has a clear agenda that I am determined will be driven forward with energy and commitment. There is no time to be wasted on extensive restructuring at the expense of action to implement our policies. Restructuring of Departments and agencies inevitably entails disruption and costs, but I am satisfied that, with the changes I am making, the benefits will outweigh the costs because they will group functions the combination of which is more appropriate to current priorities than the present arrangements, ensure greater coherence, produce more efficient delivery and underline the priority issues for this Government in a way that mobilises a broad response.

A major focus of the changes I am making is the jobs agenda, namely, creating the conditions for sustainable job creation,-----

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