Bertie Ahern
Question:3 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the number of Government task forces in which his Department is involved. [9180/96]
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Task Forces.
The Implementation Task Force on Communicating Europe is chaired by Deputy Gay Mitchell, Minister of State for European Affairs at my Department. My Department is also represented at official level on the Dublin Docklands Area Task Force.
Do I understand from the Taoiseach's reply that his Department is not involved in any task forces? I have attempted by means of parliamentary questions to discover the number of task forces in existence.
There are too many.
Perhaps the Taoiseach's office might supply me with a satisfactory reply.
I answered the question as posed. I will seek to supply any further information required by the Deputy and I draw his attention to Question No. 45 of 26 March, in the name of Deputy O'Dea, which provides some useful and interesting information. If the Deputy requires further information following a perusal of the reply to that question I will seek to provide it.
I put questions to the Taoiseach and his colleagues in Government with the purpose of obtaining information on the implementation of reports of task forces in which Departments are engaged. From the range of replies I have received, I have experienced great difficulty in discovering the task forces put in place by various Ministers. Some of those replies indicated that the Department of the Taoiseach should perhaps have a co-ordinating role. The reply I have received to this question seems to indicate that it does not have such a role.
There is no uniform practice in relation to task forces. Where it is plainly required, a Department with lead responsibility will co-ordinate the project and other Departments will hold subsidiary responsibilities. All interdepartmental groups or task forces that are established are co-ordinated by the Department with lead responsibility. If it arises that two or three Departments hold equal responsibility in the matter, it is likely that the co-ordinating function will be provided by my Department or the Department of Finance. This depends very much on the subject involved. There cannot be a rigid rule because subjects and prescriptions vary.