Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Taoiseach will be aware that previously he promised to find significant savings in the Department of the Taoiseach immediately. When I asked a question on this matter on a previous occasion, the Taoiseach was not in a position to point to a single area in which a significant cost saving had been implemented. He accepted at the time that the transfer of a section of the Department of the Taoiseach to a new Department would not constitute such a saving, in his opinion. Since then, has the Taoiseach identified any areas in which savings can be made? What is his opinion of the important expenditures within his Department that might potentially be open to efficiencies or savings? Surely he does not need a comprehensive spending review to identify where savings can be made at this stage.

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