Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister brought up the issue of Government. During my term in government, I had to deal with a vast array of technical issues right across government. We were far too reliant on external advice. While external advice is important, it must complement the expertise available within government itself. Right across our public service, we need focused incentives for those within the public service to upskill and to attract those with such skills into Departments so that we can provide a better understanding of the technical advice presented. Internships for researchers, such as those mentioned by the Minister, can give them a better understanding of how government works and how decisions are made. Most important, however, is the need to get them to acknowledge that the advice available is the best advice available at that time and not to be waiting for the perfect solution to appear in an academic paper in five years.

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