Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Most of them are in the name of the Deputy and they all are related.

The programme for Government states, "We will reduce the size of the Department of the Taoiseach, transforming it into the equivalent of a Cabinet Office that oversees the delivery of a new Programme for Government". Since taking office as Taoiseach and in keeping with that commitment, I have instituted a series of radical reforms to the operation of the Department of the Taoiseach.

Responsibility for public service modernisation and related industrial relations issues has been assigned to the new Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As a consequence, 27 staff have transferred to that Department.

A new integrated European affairs division is being established within the Department of the Taoiseach. This will involve the transfer of approximately 19 staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who will work alongside existing staff from my Department in the new integrated EU division. The new division will support me in my membership of the European Council, as well as supporting the Tánaiste in his responsibility for overall co-ordination of European policy, together with the Minister of State with special responsibility for European affairs and including the Tánaiste's membership of the General Affairs Council. It will secure more effective strategic direction and co-ordination across the whole of government in all matters related to the European Union. I anticipate that the incoming staff will be in place by 3 October and that the new arrangements will be fully operational from that date.

The Government has also agreed to establish an office of the Tánaiste within the Department of the Taoiseach. This office will have a small number of support staff and avail of physical and support facilities which will be provided by my Department. Both the staff and the support costs for the office will be provided at no additional cost from within the existing resources of my Department. The office will be fully operational in the coming weeks.

In parallel with the major restructuring of my Department, the Government has also made significant new management appointments. As I previously informed the House, it has appointed Ms Geraldine Byrne Nason as Second Secretary General in my Department. She will have responsibility for the management of an integrated EU co-ordination function, engaging with other Departments, as appropriate, reporting to me and the Tánaiste, as appropriate, in respect of our particular responsibilities at European level, and working with the Minister of State with special responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Creighton, in respect of her duties; managing support for the Government Economic Management Council which is chaired by me and reporting to the Tánaiste on matters relating to the council; and also managing the office of the Tánaiste within the Department of the Taoiseach, with responsibility for co-ordinating support for the Tánaiste in his whole-of-government responsibilities.

On my nomination, the Government appointed Mr. Martin Fraser as the new Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach with effect from 1 August. Mr. Fraser is the Accounting Officer for the Department of the Taoiseach. Both the Secretary General and the Second Secretary General are members of the staff of my Department. They will work with and, as appropriate, report to me and the Tánaiste, as I have explained. As Deputies will know from their own experience, this model has worked very successfully in the past, notably in respect of the Northern Ireland peace process and Ireland's last EU Presidency.

As I outlined to the House previously, the filling of the post of Secretary General to my Department, in accordance with established practice, was a matter for the Government and does not come within the remit of the Top Level Appointments Commission. Expressions of interest for the post were invited from civil servants and all suitable officers, whether they submitted an expression of interest, were considered before the Government made the appointments.

Although the details are not yet finalised, there are likely to be two new appointments to vacancies at assistant secretary level in my Department shortly. These posts will be fully open and advertised in the national newspapers. The selection will be conducted by the Top Level Appointments Commission which the Government has reformed to include an independent chairperson and a majority of members from outside the Civil Service.

The changes I have made, alongside the establishment of the new Government Economic Management Council, serve to strongly reinforce the strategic centre of government. I expect that the new management team in the Department will implement a number of further administrative changes in the coming months which will serve to supplement the strategic restructuring I have implemented and ensure the Department is modernised to meet the enormous challenges that the Government faces. These changes will focus on ensuring modern and effective mechanisms for implementing the programme for Government, the Cabinet Office model, and prioritising work on national priorities. They will draw on lessons learned from the recent past and international best practice. Tackling the economic crisis, with a particular focus on unemployment and jobs, will be of paramount importance. The new approach will be further elaborated on in the Department's new strategy statement and action plan under the organisational review programme. Both will be published before the end of the year. Apart from the changes I have outlined, it is not proposed to transfer any funding or other programmes to my Department.

There are six staff working in my Department who are on secondment from other Departments, while nine staff are on secondment from the Department of the Taoiseach to other public sector bodies. A number of staff in diplomatic grades in the new EU division will be seconded from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, while the general service staff will formally transfer to my Department.

The number of whole-time equivalent staff in my Department at the end of 2008 was 212. At the end of 2009 it was 198, and at the end of 2010 it was 191. Even following the transfer of significant numbers of staff to the new EU division, I expect that this figure will fall to approximately 187 by the end of the year.

The Department of the Taoiseach will fully comply with its obligations to make savings under the Croke Park agreement and also play its part in further reducing costs in the context of the decisions to be made by the Government against the background of the comprehensive review of expenditure which is under way and being conducted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Following completion of the radical changes under way, the Department will be able to fulfil its many important roles more effectively but with a smaller staff complement and budget than in recent years.

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