Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Deputy makes a valid and important point regarding the key element of reform. Like draining the River Shannon or restoring the Irish language, reform is often talked about. However, the key criterion will be the delivery of our objectives in this regard.

In the lead-up to the formation of the Government, both Fine Gael and the Labour Party undertook careful analyses of the imperative of reform. Both parties came broadly to the same conclusion, namely, that we must have a Department and a Cabinet-ranked Minister with control of expenditure in order to drive reform. That is why my Department was created. Within the Department we have a political reform unit which will deal with issues such as the freedom of information legislation, register of lobbyists and all of the other important political efforts to bring about transparency. In addition, we have the public service reform unit, which is led by a director who has worked largely in the private sector in bringing about change management there. We have set out a range of specific targets, described them and described the target date for their delivery. These measures will ensure our plan is effective.

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