Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 66: To ask the Taoiseach the responsibilities and activities in his Department for which he is responsible to Dáil Éireann and which may be the subject of Taoiseach's questions. [5803/11]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am responsible to the Dáil for the general activities of my Department and parliamentary questions addressed to me must relate to public affairs connected with my Department, or to matters of administration for which I am officially responsible. However, there are specific activities undertaken by officials of my Department for which I do not have official responsibility e.g. decisions made in relation to freedom of information applications or matters concerning release of files under the National Archives Act.

I am also accountable to the Dáil in a limited way in respect of a number of State offices, for example, the legal offices of the State and the Central Statistics Office. By and large, I answer questions in the House in relation to matters of administration connected with those offices. Similarly, the nature of my responsibility to the House in respect of any Tribunal or Commission established "under the aegis" of my Department is confined primarily to the arrangements relating to their establishment and ongoing administration.

The specific nature of my accountability in respect of my Department and those bodies operating within its policy area has long been established by precedent in each case.