Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I am disappointed he has left or levitated out of the Chamber. We have a new definition of green jobs, given that the only people to get the leg up in terms of this reshuffle are the two green backbenchers. It is quite extraordinary. I congratulate the Tánaiste on her nomination as the new Minister for Education and Skills. I understand Deputy Varadkar said that he would look forward to our interventions across the floor of the House. I can assure the Tánaiste I am a pussycat by comparison to Deputy Varadkar.

I also congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, on his nomination to the new post. I also congratulate the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, the effective Marc Antony of this Administration in that he has the ear of Caesar, on his nomination as the new Minister for Enterprise and Employment.

On the question of education, the Taoiseach has hived off the fourth level research section from the Department of Education and Science to the new Department of Enterprise and Employment without also including third level education with it. That is dysfunctional. We, effectively, have a new Department of Education and Skills, which will also have some funding for FÁS in terms of retraining, which is a good thing but the problem is that the Department is too big. It is effectively a Department of schools. It does not have any interest in further education, training opportunities or even higher level education. This Department, which is already too big is to become bigger under the reshuffle. There is a disconnect between what the Taoiseach wants to do in terms of research, laudable as it is, and not having attached to it the third level sector. The third level sector will still come under the Department of Education and Skills while the fourth level sector, research, will be come under the new Department. Where is the connectivity in policy in that regard, which the Taoiseach is trying to achieve? I know he is trying to achieve more commercialisation of the research budget, which is now significant, but I do not believe he will succeed.

The Departments of enterprise, education and social welfare will now have a foot, as it were, on FÁS. This is bizarre. FÁS will no longer be answerable to one Minister in one Department but, effectively, will be answerable to three Ministers in three Departments. That will not solve the problems we face at a policy level within any of those Departments.

On the day Deputy Cowen became Taoiseach he highlighted the issue of public service reform as the number one concern. He said that by September he would have his plans for that reform, but he did not achieve that benchmark. The notion that public service reform can be achieved by moving a few Ministers around a few Departments without changing the way in which the public service deals with the public is total anathema. There is no sense of a radical idea of public service reform in this reshuffle, limited as it is.

This is a good day for those Ministers who have been given an opportunity to serve in high office, and I congratulate them, but this country needs a new start. It will not get a new start from the same group of people who have led this country into the mire during the past 13 years in government. The public see through that, as does everyone else, and that is why there will be no great change as a result of this reshuffle.

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