Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her Department has a management advisory committee or an equivalent management committee; if it meets regularly; and if so, the frequency of same; if she and the Ministers of State attached to her Department attend the meetings; if a special adviser or advisers attached to the ministerial office or offices attend such meetings; if the minutes are circulated subsequent to each meeting with an indication as to the action to be taken by whom and when; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32983/07]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she convenes specific policy meetings with officials in her Department; the way a policy meeting with officials is different to that of a management meeting, such as a management advisory committee meeting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32997/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 94 together.

My Department's Management Advisory Committee (MAC) generally meets every Monday morning. Its work programme is structured and provides for regular consideration of matters of particular importance. Such matters are then brought to my attention, in the first instance, by the Secretary General, and also by individual MAC members.

In addition to dealing with internal management issues, such as finance and personnel, policy/service issues are tabled and discussed at MAC meetings to develop a corporate approach.

Minutes of MAC meetings are placed on my Department's intranet and copies of specified reports considered by MAC are circulated to me, the Ministers of State and the special advisors.

My interaction with the management of the Department is in line with a recommendation of the Travers report, as follows:

'Ministers and their Special Advisors should avoid becoming involved, to too great an extent, in the day — to — day operations and administration of the Department. In that context, Ministers should consider whether their involvement with the MAC should be on the basis of, perhaps, quarterly meetings which are well formulated and structured to focus on the key policy and operational issues of the Department. The Minister's key conduit of contact with the overall organisational arrangements for the Department should be through the Secretary General.' (p80)

Accordingly, it has not been my practice as Minister in this Department, nor in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to attend MAC meetings. I believe Departmental management should be able to meet collectively to discharge its functions as a civil service management unit.

In addition, neither the Ministers of State attached to my Department nor any special advisors attend the monthly MAC meetings.

However, I have ongoing contact with my Department's Secretary General, individual MAC members and other senior management on particular proposals, policies and issues. This can mean weekly, and sometimes, daily interaction with individual MAC members.

In addition to this day — to — day contact, I meet with the Secretary General on the morning of each Government meeting; I meet with the Ministers of State as a group each week; and I meet together with the Ministers of State and my special advisors with the MAC on a quarterly basis, as indicated in the quoted recommendation from the Travers report.

I have also agreed arrangements for interaction with individual MAC members approximately bimonthly, should the need arise to deal with aspects of their work which have not come up in more frequent issue-based meetings.