Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, in outlining the technical nature of this Bill, made the important point that these proposals cannot be seen in isolation but as part of a broader range of policy development initiatives. There is no doubt that the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has a significant job of work in terms of legislation to be brought forward. We discussed some of this workload last week during the question and answer session with the Minister of State regarding collective bargaining, workplace relations and the ongoing delays in that regard.

While we do not oppose the Bill in principle, we look forward to examining its provisions, some of which are very technical in nature, in more detail on Committee Stage. The Bill proposes to dissolve Forfás and assign powers to agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish National Accreditation Board to function as employers in their own right, including, for example, the capacity to establish superannuation schemes. As it stands, Forfás is the statutory employer. In this context, we welcome the commitment that terms and conditions of employment will transfer over, which is reassuring for personnel within the organisation.

The question of the functions of Forfás is something I intend to examine in detail on Committee Stage. The Minister of State referred to the importance of retaining the capacity for independent critical analysis which the agency provided. Now that it is being subsumed into the Department and coming under the remit of the Minister - some non-policy functions will transfer to other agencies but, in the main, it will be amalgamated into the Department - it is very important that the independent character of its operations is maintained. We must avoid a situation where a groupthink mentality prevails. I am confident the Minister of State will do everything, from his own personal and political point of view, to ensure that does not happen.

The Bill provides for a strategic policy division within the Department to take over Forfás's role in providing independent research and analysis. Will this division have the power to set out its own research programme? Will all of the reports coming from the unit be made public? Or will they be for the Minister's eyes only, with publication taking place at his discretion? As the Minister of State knows from his time on the other side of the Chamber, in order for Opposition Deputies to fulfil their role in holding the Government to account, providing critical analysis of policy when such is required and acknowledging when good work is being done, it is important that they have access to all available information and the latest research findings. I am seeking an assurance that there will be no question of reports that are critical of Government policy being shelved by the Department. My concern in this regard is not specific to the current Government but applies irrespective of which parties are in government and whoever the Minister might be. After all, the Minister will have ultimate control over the strategic policy division. It is all well and good for the Minister of State to assure us that Forfás's function in providing independent critical analysis is safeguarded, but that might not always be the case. We do not know who will be in his chair in five or ten years time.

The opening sections of the Bill give powers to agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, as I have said, to become employers in their own right, including the capacity to hire staff. These provisions will be subject to approval by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, which is reasonable. However, the Minister of State knows as well as I do the realities of the current economic situation. He indicated in his opening statement that these proposals do not represent a cost-saving measure and I accept his word in that regard. He did indicate there would be savings in the long term, which is welcome. However, reforms of this type should never be initiated merely on the basis of potential cost savings. With that proviso in mind, I accept the Minister of State's position that these proposals represent a policy decision to develop efforts in regard to job creation.

We have seen leaked reports from Enterprise Ireland on the impact of reductions in staffing levels on its ability to carry out its functions. IDA Ireland had a good year in 2013, for which it should be commended. It did not, however, achieve all of its targets, including the undertaking to ensure 50% of investment would go outside the main urban areas of Cork and Dublin. Can the Minister of State confirm that the failure to meet this particular target was not down to a resourcing issue? There is no point in legislation which gives organisations such as Enterprise Ireland the capacity to become employers in their own right if the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is not prepared to loosen the purse strings to accommodate that. If additional recruitment is needed to allow organisations such as Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to work at the optimum level, then the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform must be open to it. I presume the Minister of State has been lobbying the Minster, Deputy Howlin, on these issues.

This Bill contains good proposals which we intend to support. As I said, however, we might well bring forward amendments on Committee Stage. We look forward to examining some of the provisions in more detail, particularly in respect of the strategic policy division and how it will work in practice. It sounds great in theory but we need to go through the nuts and bolts of what is proposed and how it will work in reality.

I look forward to a robust debate on Committee Stage.

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