Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

It seems the Department is so fragmented now it will be difficult to take in all the elements. We see some sections of the Department of Social Protection working well in Sligo and Letterkenny, etc. The big question is whether it is feasible that the Department, given the fragmentation outlined by the Minister, can work as cohesively as those sections in the Department of Social Protection. In the development of the Department, how do the staff involved travel from Tubbercurry or the seven areas mentioned by the Minister? Is that an extra cost on the Department that would not be there under normal circumstances?

I get wonderful service from the Department of Social Protection in Longford, Sligo and Letterkenny and I could have no crib about the way the system works. Can the Minister's Department work under similar circumstances? The Department of Social Protection deals mainly in payments but the Minister's Department is different as it deals with development programmes and there would be a greater number of meetings. The Minister and Minister of State can outline these issues.

I am considering staff efficiency so does the Minister feel the decentralisation exercise will be a success? I agree with the theme of decentralisation. Does the Minister, having been in office for a period, agree with me? Does he envisage any problems or know of existing problems? As the process has stalled, can something be done before we move the sections to their final positions?

See this speech in context