Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I thank Deputy O'Rourke. On the issue of the task force, it is important that we get it established as quickly as possible and that we get the right people on it. I envisage a triumvirate of representatives of the industry, first and foremost, but also the people with expertise in our agencies as well as a role for the Department. My vision for the task force is that we would have an independent chairperson who would assist the task force to formulate proposals and measures that are very much supportive of and needed by the industry. Plans are well under way within the Department to have the task force established. I would have liked to have had it established by now but I hope that in the very near future, working with the Minister, Deputy Ross, and officials in the Department, it will be progressed further and we will get it moving.

Deputy MacSharry, who is no longer in the Chamber, was quite harsh in his comments regarding the people, including in the industry, in the agencies and the officials in the Department, who have given huge time to the group we established and which has met seven times since 26 February to deal with the survival phase we are in at the moment. Those people have given a huge amount of their time and have been very constructive. Their feedback has been relayed directly to Cabinet by the Minister, Deputy Ross, who was present for the vast majority of those meetings. The only ones he missed, ironically, were those where he was at Cabinet at the same time. All of that is happening already. I am very keen that this task force should be highly effective and that the people involved have the expertise.

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