Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is for another debate.

Senator Craughwell raised a case, which I will not go into. On foot of the Senator raising the case, my office contacted the Department of Defence. There has been a Commencement Matter debate on the matter. To be fair, the issue is important to the Senator. I think he would agree with me that the Taoiseach or the Minister for Defence does not have control over matters like promotion, hiring and firing within the Defence Forces. Rather than dividing the House, I would be happy to talk to the Senator afterwards about how we can reach some resolution to the impasse.The matter he raises is important. It illustrates the need for transparency in respect of public appointments and the interview process in particular. For all of us who have gone for interview for posts of responsibility and promotion in our jobs, there needs to be a clear marking scheme and a transparent awarding of points in order that we can have confidence in the integrity of the promotion system, whether that is in the Defences Forces, the education sector or even the Houses of the Oireachtas. I would be happy to speak to the Senator about this again afterwards if that is okay with him.

Senator Grace O'Sullivan referred to maritime affairs. Commissioner Vella is involved in drafting the maritime strategy framework and I would be happy to have a debate on that in the autumn because it is important. I compliment the Senator on her performance on the RTE maritime programme recently. It was an enlightening interview.

Senator Humphreys raised the issue of collective Cabinet responsibility and the Taoiseach. I would be happy for the Taoiseach to come to the House but I do not think he will be here before the summer recess. It will not happen next week because his diary and our schedule are pretty full.