Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last year the Taoiseach indicated that there were to be three basic principles in how he intended to run the Department of the Taoiseach. He said he would reorganise Cabinet committees to make them more dynamic, but it has since been revealed that they rarely meet, irrespective of the urgency of the issues involved. The health reform committee is almost dormant, while the committee responsible for broadband has met once this year. We all know what happened on that issue before a meeting was scheduled for this week. The Taoiseach also said he wanted to align the Department closely with Government policy priorities, but in practice this simply meant a major increase in resources for marketing. He indicated that he would ensure his team of advisers would see to it that active progress would be made in dealing with priority issues. Will he explain if he is happy with the level of engagement by his staff and the Department on health issues? Some years ago the Department took a formal role in overseeing budgetary restraint in the Department of Health, but given the record Supplementary Estimates required to keep that Department going, is the Taoiseach satisfied with how it is operating? Will he explain how he ensures the Department stays closely engaged on housing and major infrastructural projects such as broadband provision?

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