Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 175: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the specific powers he intends to delegate to Ministers of State in his Department. [5258/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The government at its meeting of 10 March 2011, on the nomination of the Taoiseach, appointed Mr. Dinny McGinley, T.D., as Minister of State with responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs at the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs. My Department will soon be retitled the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs following the execution of the necessary government orders.

The process of transferring functions from one Department to another is carried out by means of Government Orders. Each Order needs to be carefully drafted so that all relevant legislation is listed in the Schedule to the Order. The Departments which currently hold the functions which are being transferred to my Department are fully engaged in this task at present. The draft Orders will need to be finalised and settled in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel before they can be brought to Government.

Once this process has been finalised, it is the Minister for Finance who brings the necessary Orders to Government. At this stage, I cannot give a precise date for the formal transfer of functions as this depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the legislation governing the particular functions.

I can assure the Deputy that everyone involved in the process, both in my own Department and in the other Departments concerned, is making every effort to complete it at the earliest possible date and I hope that it can be brought to conclusion within a matter of weeks.

On completion of this process a further order will be required to delegate functions to the Minister of State.