Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Do I hear my old friend, Senator Brian Hayes? It is good to hear him. As my colleague, Deputy McCreevy said, it is not another layer of bureaucracy. It is an added dimension, providing financial expertise to Ministers, Government Departments and State agencies and authorities to get the best value for money. If we wanted to create another layer of bureaucracy we would do what the Opposition said and give all of the responsibilities to the new agency so that there would be duplication of effort and a slowing down. The agency is to expedite projects, it is to expedite the national development plan and bring a new stream of opportunity through new financial decision-making processes and new procurement procedures.

The responsibility for any project will rest with the relevant Minister or the relevant agency or authority, as always. The agency will not be another layer of bureaucracy. It will not duplicate any of the project development, project management or implementation structures that are already in place and the expertise already there. The agency will be involved with the financial side of projects. It will draw on the acknowledged expertise of an existing agency, the National Treasury Management Agency. We were lambasted for setting it up.