Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I have a couple of ceisteanna. There was a practice where staff in Departments were assigned to constituency work. How many staff, if any, in the Taoiseach's Department are assigned to this? In the last Dáil an adviser from the Department of the Taoiseach was seconded to the office of the Minister for Health and Children. Have steps been taken to rectify that position?

There is another point on which to reflect. At a time when the British had direct responsibility in the North, it may have been appropriate that we were dealt with through the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Assembly is now ending its first term ever since partition so we are clearly at a different dispensation. There may be merit in the Government considering having somebody in the Taoiseach's Department dealing directly with that part of the island. I know many Irish citizens, not just Nationalists and republicans, do not feel happy that we are dealt with by the Department of Foreign Affairs. We are all part of the one island and one nation. There might be something there to reflect on and perhaps we could discuss that informally at some other point.

The two main questions concern whether there are advisers assigned to constituency work and if so, how many; second, has the position of person who was seconded to the office of the Minister for Health and Children been rectified?

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