Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate everybody who is taking up a seat in the Chamber. In particular, I congratulate those who undertook successful elections to get here and everybody who took their seat in Seanad Éireann for the first time yesterday. It is an immense honour and I wish them every success over the next five years. I also take this opportunity to offer comhghairdeas to you, a Chathaoirligh, on your successful election. I acknowledge all of the contributions made here today. I acknowledge the experiences shared by Members who themselves served as Ministers of State, or super-juniors, as we call them.

I want to be clear. It is absolutely the Government's intention to ensure that the work of new Ministers of State is fully meaningful and achieves the flexibility and the whole-of-government approach that is outlined in our vision for Ireland, which is, of course, our document, the programme for Government 2025. As Minister of State both now and in the previous Government, the importance of the role of the Minister of State is something I can attest to personally. I am the newly appointed Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and I currently have responsibility for e-Government, public procurement and digitalisation.It was great to hear Senator Higgins speak about AI and its importance, which will very much be coming into my brief. These are very important areas of focus which will help us deliver a modern, simplified and intuitive public service for all of the people we represent. We are doing this in an increasingly digital age and an increasingly digital global economy.

In my previous role as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment I had special responsibility for business, employment and retail and 37 Acts were delegated to me in this capacity. These ranged from sick leave to patents. I had oversight of vital bodies such as the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the Health and Safety Authority. I chaired the retail forum and the subgroup of the Labour Employment Economic Forum, of which ICTU and IBEC are members. This important work was undertaken done not only on behalf of the Cabinet Minister or the Department but on behalf of the Government and society as a whole. Senator Higgins spoke about the need for Ministers of State to be empowered to make decisions. In my previous role I had responsibility for the national minimum wage, sectoral employment orders and increasing quotas for work permits. These were all issues on which I made decisions in my capacity as Minister of State. Ministers of State throughout the Government make such decisions in Departments.

All Minister of State roles are important. They serve the Government, protect jobs, grow our economy and deliver for society. As our population grows, the Dáil grows to reflect this. I take on board Senator Harmon's comments that our local authorities need to grow to reflect the increasing population. It makes sense that the number of Ministers of State grows in a way that is meaningful to the delivery of public services and key areas of our economy and communities. This is why the Government is creating three additional Minister of State roles. They will have specific responsibility for key areas of importance to us. These are migration, fisheries and further education and apprenticeships. With this complement of Ministers of State the Government will be able to respond more quickly to emerging issues and crises and make our Administration more agile and responsive to the needs of our growing population. This is in the context of additional EU regulations and travel requirements as Senator Kyne has said, and the modernisation and digitalisation of the global economy as Senator Higgins has said.

Additional cross-functional Ministers of State will help to deliver a whole-of-government approach. Ministers of State working in collaboration with one another and across various Departments will help to break down silos. This will help create a whole-of-government culture right across the public service. We hear calls for this all of the time. The new Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine will be assigned to two different Departments. He will be assigned to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and to the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. Having involvement in several Departments will ensure these Ministers of State can pull together the policy structures in the areas involved. I take on board Senator Craughwell's concerns about having Ministers of State across different Departments but I view it from the perspective of being able to pull together and achieve more.

Senator Noonan spoke about the delegation of powers. The quicker we can get the legislation through, the quicker this delegation of powers can happen for Ministers of State.

With regard to the technicalities of the Bill, fundamentally it is very brief. It will increase the number of Ministers of State from 20 to 23 and will extend to one additional Minister of State the existing allowances for Ministers of State who sit at Cabinet. As Senator Kyne said, it is fair and reasonable that the extra person who has the additional responsibility of regularly attending Cabinet meetings receives the relevant allowance for fulfilling the role and that the additional work is duly recognised. I thank all Senators for their comments and their support for the Bill.