Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I agree with the main point made by Senator Byrne, which is that this needs to be tracked. The Minister of State cited a response from the Department, suggesting it would be difficult to do so. We are able to get regular updates on progress on the Croke Park agreement, a matter which is important and which we discussed this morning. It seems in that instance when we are looking at savings within the public sector from a deal that was widely criticised outside the House, I did not share in that criticism, we are able to get regular updates. The Minister of State might understand the inference of my question. Why can we not get regular updates? It need not be every two months.

It is crucially important because we are looking not at a jobs initiative across the entire economic spectrum in the country but at specific sectoral areas. In those sectoral areas, the Department should be able to track on a biannual basis the progress being made within these sectors and perhaps give a commitment that this would be something that should be looked at because we need the information.

One of the valid criticisms of previous Governments is that things happened and were not realised until it was too late. I would hate the Government to spend over €1.5 billion of taxpayers' money on jobs initiatives that two years down the line were not working. I do not accept the view from the Department that this cannot be tracked. I am not saying that it must be tracked down to the single job, but we should be able to track the process within sectors.

If we cannot do it, how will the Department of Finance, along with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, be able to track the airlines on the new routes and new passengers that are coming in and whether they are worthy of the abolition of the travel tax? I assume that is one area that the Department will be able to track.

If one takes that piece out of it, we would not need to track too much else. On the reduction in VAT rates in those sectors, surely the Department of Finance with its collective experience should be able to track, in the case of retail sales and income in the tourism sector, the impact of the reduction in VAT which we welcome.

I ask the Department to examine this issue. This is important on the basis that the Government would see that its initiative is working. Perhaps it will come to a stage in a year's time where the Minister finds that it is not working as well as he wished in those sectors and maybe we should move towards other sectors.

For example, there are announcements on the research and development sector which are also welcome. Ten years ago there was no research and development sector to speak of in the economy but now Ireland is one of the world leaders in this area. That is tracked within the Department.

From my experience as a former member of the Committee of Public Accounts in my previous life in the Dáil, when one seeks information sometimes it is like pulling teeth but one will get it in the end. It is important. What will happen otherwise? Will the Minister, Deputy Noonan, wait for four years when he states he will stand down the levy to pay for the jobs initiative to find out whether it has worked or not? I hope it works but we need regular reviews on this. Deputy Brian Hayes needs to insist on this, with the power that he has as Minister of State at the Department of Finance, as does his colleague, the Minister, Deputy Noonan. They are the Ministers. They were elected by the people. I would like to hear the Minister of State's view on that issue.