asked the Taoiseach if he is aware that at the present time the control of our marine activities is scattered amongst various Departments, the Navy being under the Army, Mercantile Marine under Industry and Commerce, Sea Fisheries under Agriculture, our Nautical College under Education, etc.; and seeing that our national interests will now demand greater expansion of our commercial and defensive activities on sea, will he consider the advisability of co-ordinating the activities into one Department with one responsible administrative head.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Control of Marine Service.
The various services connected with marine matters are at present assigned to the Departments with whose functions they are, respectively, most closely related. I am satisfied that no improvement in the efficiency of the services would be secured by concentrating them in one Department. The existing arrangements provide for all necessary co-ordination between the Departments concerned.