Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister for public expenditure and reform.I support this legislation. Reference has been made to the fact that government is becoming more complex and that responsibilities are ever increasing. It was interesting during the preparation of our party's manifesto to note the number of sectoral groups that came in with very reasonable pitches but many of which sought a stand-alone Minister of State or even a stand-alone Minister at Cabinet to deal with the specific issues they had. That is in some ways understandable but the constitutional limitation on the number of Cabinet Ministers is 15. That cannot change without a referendum of the people. While that could be a consideration in future, that is the limit as matters stand. When one has sectoral groups seeking additional and improved attendance at Cabinet to champion their sectoral interests, it is understandable that there would be a request for more Ministers of State.

I meant to say that I wished to share time with Senator Joe O'Reilly. Is that okay?