Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I compliment the Minister of State. Many Ministers come into the House, but he has shown himself to be very au fait with the issues that come before us. Senator O'Reilly is involved with the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and knows it covers a wide, broad and complex range of activities. It can be quite challenging to keep oneself briefed and up to speed on everything. I commend the Minister of State in that regard. I know he is well assisted by some very good civil servants who have been with him here. There is a lot of debate on the public service and private sector at the moment. We are fortunate that there are excellent people working within the public service who are indispensable to the services we provide.