Ruairí Quinn
Question:1 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the interdepartmental groups on which his Department is currently represented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3399/99]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Interdepartmental Groups.
John Bruton
Question:2 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will list the interdepartmental groups on which his Department is represented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5023/99]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:3 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach further to Parliamentary Question No. 34 of 10 February 1999, the number of interdepartmental groups on which his Department engages in full and active participation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5048/99]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:4 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the number of officials from his Department represented on the interdepartmental committee on Ireland's Security Council candidature committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5050/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.
My Department is represented on a significant number of interdepartmental groups, 57 in all, because of my role as Head of Government and my Department's role in the co-ordination of Government policy, in particular in relation to Northern Ireland, European affairs, social partnership and the strategic management initiative. The interdepartmental groups on which my Department is represented are listed in the schedule which I propose to circulate in the Official Report. In the case of four of these groups, my Department's role is one of actively monitoring their progress. These four groups are clearly indicated in the schedule. My Department plays a full and active role in the other 53.
My Department has one representative on the interdepartmental committee on Ireland's security council candidature. The committee was established in the latter part of 1998 to ensure proper co-ordination in the promotion of Ireland's candidacy for the UN Security Council. The committee is chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Schedule: List of Interdepartmental Groups
N.B. The Department of the Taoiseach monitors the progress of groups Nos. 26, 44, 45 and 46 and is a full and active participant in all others
Strategic Management Initiative
1. Strategic Management Initiative Co-ordinating Group
2.Strategic Management Initiative Heads of Office Implementation Group
3.Strategic Management Initiative Human Resources Management Working Group
4.Strategic Management Initiative Quality Customer Service Working Group
5.Strategic Management Initiative Information Technology Working Group
6.Strategic Management Initiative Steering Group on Performance Management
7.Strategic Management Initiative Garda Implementation Steering Group
8. National Centre for Partnership – Board
9. National Centre for Partnership – Liaison Group
10.Consultation Group on the Review of the Irish Naval Service and Air Corps
11.Sub Group of General Council on the Performance Management System
Northern Ireland Division
12.Interdepartmental Committee on the Development of the Battle of the Boyne Site
13. Steering Group on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
14.Interdepartmental Group on the European Convention on Human Rights
European and International Affairs Division
15.Ministers and Secretaries General Group on EU policy
16.Senior Officials Group to assist the Ministers and Secretaries Group on EU Policy
17.Expert Technical Group on Agenda 2000
18. Interdepartmental Committee on Agenda 2000
19. Interdepartmental Committee on EU Enlargement
20.Standing Interdepartmental Committee on Human Rights
21.Interdepartmental Committee on Ireland's Security Council Candidature
22. Communicating Europe Implementation Task Force
Economic and Social Policy Division
Partnership 2000
23. Tax Strategy Group
24. Secondary Benefits Group (group now wound up)
25. Interdepartmental Task Force on Disabilities
26. Expo 2000 Inter-Departmental and Agency Group*
Sector Specific Issues
27.Implementation Group for the Information Society
28.Working Group on Academy for the Performing Arts, including a Conservatoire
29.Working Group on the Integration of Local Government and Local Development
Long-Standing Groups
30. Strategy Group on Employment and Unemployment
31.National Anti-Poverty Strategy Interdepartmental Policy Committee
32.Interdepartmental Policy Committee on Local Development
33. National Drugs Strategy Policy Group
34.Interdepartmental Committee on Islands, Rural Development and Irish Language
Millennium
35. Millennium Group of Senior Officials
Public-Private Partnerships
36.Interdepartmental Committee on Public-Private Partnerships
Information Technology Division
37.Civil Service Information Technology User Group
38. Information Technology Managers' Network
39. Year 2000 Special Interest Group
40. Interdepartmental IT Security Group
Government Secretariat and Protocol Division
41. Interdepartmental Group on National Security
42. Interdepartmental Group on Emergency Planning
43. Ad-Hoc Committee on State Funerals
44. National Civil Aviation Security Committee*
45.Interdepartmental Committee on Emergency Preparations in Peacetime*
46.Interdepartmental Emergency Response Co-ordination Committee*
47.Interdepartmental Committee on Practice and Procedures for Protection of Classified Information
48.Steering Committee on Accommodation for the Houses of the Oireachtas, College of Art Site
49.Interdepartmental Committee on Protection of Classified Official Information
Information Society Commission
50.Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform Working Group on the Illegal and Harmful Use of the Internet
51.Working Party on National Policy on Libraries and Information Services
52.National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Steering Committee for Information and Communication Technologies
Finance Division
53. Single Currency Officers Team (SCOT)
54. Financial Management System User Group (FMS)
Freedom of Information
55.Interdepartmental Working Group on Freedom of Information
56.Civil Service Freedom of Information Users' Network
Personnel Section
57.Interdepartmental Committee to Monitor Achievement of 3% Target for the Employment of People with Disabilities in the Public Service
The Taoiseach's reply is rather brief. Question No. 3 is specific and refers to my question of 10 February seeking information on the number of interdepartmental groups in which the Taoiseach's Department fully and actively participates. In reply to my parliamentary question of that date the Taoiseach said he had a watching brief in relation to most if not all the committees. Should the supplementary documentation contain the information, will he indicate the interdepartmental groups in which his Department plays a real role? In regard to the schedule issued on 10 February in which he states the Department is represented on the Ministers and Secretaries General Group on EU policy, did that committee formulate the Government's position on regionalisation?
My Department plays a full and active role in 53 of the groups and actively monitors the progress of four groups.
The Ministers and Secretaries General Group on EU policy reported on the proposals being submitted to Europe.
I have a slight problem which no doubt the Taoiseach will resolve. I have his reply to my parliamentary question of 10 February. I will quote, if I may – I know that is not in accordance with Standing Orders—
Let me draw the Taoiseach's attention to his reply on that occasion in which he said his Department is represented on a significant number, 54 in all, of interdepartmental groups and so on and in many cases his Department's role is one of monitoring the progress of the groups rather than full active participation. Did the Taoiseach say his Department plays a full and active role in 54 or 57 groups? I am somewhat at odds as to the current position.
The officials who attend these meetings believe that, other than in four of the 57 groups, they play a full and active role. Of course that varies but they believe they play a full and active role in 53 groups.
I am sure the Leader of the Fine Gael Party will concede to me. On 10 February – and that is not exactly last year – the Taoiseach said in 54 committees his Department's role is one of monitoring the progress of the groups rather than full active participation. In how many groups does the Taoiseach's Department actively participate? The Taoiseach is a very busy man but will he indicate to us the names of the committee in which his Department has a hands on as dis tinct from a monitoring role? His replies so far have confused rather than enlightened me.
My departmental officials attend 57 interdepartmental groups. They believe they fully and actively participate at those meetings. To give a rough breakdown, officials from my Department play a role in all the strategic management initiative committees, the Northern Ireland Division committees, European and International Affairs, Economic and Social Policy as well as Partnership 2000 groups, information technology, Government Secretaries and Protocol Division – which is in my Department – the Information Society Commission which is answerable to my Department and there are also committees on finance, freedom of information and personnel. Officials who attend these meetings believe they play a full and active role. However, there are four committees on which their role is to keep a watching brief.
This is my last supplementary question on the matter. May I remind the Taoiseach that in his reply of 10 February he said that in relation to the then 54 groups – he has now added three more to that number – in many cases his Department's role is one of monitoring the progress of the groups rather than full and active participation? What are the three additional groups in which his Department is now involved? Of the 57 groups, in how many do his officials have less than active participation? What is the identity of the groups in which his officials fully and actively participate? This is a question of which notice was given and the Taoiseach will have the information in his brief. He has the question and reply from 10 February. Somebody must have provided the Taoiseach with the information. If he does not have it now, he should give it to me at a later stage.
With regard to one question – I am not sure what the additional questions are – three committees are asterisked in the list of interdepartmental groups attached to my reply: the interdepartmental committee on emergency preparations in peacetime, the interdepartmental emergency response co-ordination committee and the national civil aviation security committee. The Department of the Taoiseach monitors the progress of No. 26 on the list, Expo 2000 interdepartmental and agency group. It also has a watching brief on the three committees I mentioned earlier. They are Nos. 44, 45 and 46 in the list. The list is attached to my reply.
I will put down the question again because I have not received an answer. I asked three supplementaries.
I will answer them. The Deputy asked me the same question four times and I believe I answered. However, I will start again if he believes I have not. He asked for the number of interdepartmental groups and the answer is 57. He asked in how many my Department is active, and the answer is 53. With regard to the committees on which it is not active—
It is very confusing, like getting Objective One status.
—they are the Expo 2000 interdepartmental and agency group, the national civil aviation security committee, the interdepartmental committee on emergency preparations in peacetime and the interdepartmental emergency response co-ordination committee. The only question I have not answered is with regard to the additional three committees between 10 February and today. If the Deputy needs that reply, I will forward it to him. I have answered all his questions.
Would the Taoiseach consider asking his Department to become active in the civil aviation committee given that recently, without the Government being aware of it, the EU adopted a directive regarding aircraft noise which could cause the loss of a significant number of jobs in Ireland?
Second, were any of the committees of his Department or of the Central Statistics Office involved in preparing the submission to EUROSTAT regarding Objective One and in establishing the criteria on which the Government decided to exclude some counties and include others in the application?
That will be dealt with in the next group of questions.
I am interested in the co-ordination aspect and the degree to which other Departments, in addition to the Department of the Taoiseach, were involved in preparing the Government application regarding Objective One which was not, apparently, well received. I ask the Taoiseach to answer my two questions.
With regard to the first question, I will check about the national civil aviation security committee—
I have already written to the Taoiseach about it.
Yes. The submission which was prepared by the Department of Finance came through the Ministers and Secretaries group on EU policy. The CSO was not involved in that. It carried out the statistical work. In the ongoing Agenda 2000 co-ordination work, the expert technical group on Agenda 2000, which I chair, is the group involved in the submissions and negotiations on Agenda 2000.
Why was the CSO, which is the Irish statistical body, not involved in preparing the submission to EUROSTAT to determine which areas should be excluded from and included in Objective One? Was that not a serious omission which might have contributed to the considerable embarrassment the Government is facing on this matter?
I said it is not a member of the Ministers and Secretaries group. Of course, the CSO was primarily involved; it did all the work on the statistics. The work was carried out between the CSO and EUROSTAT and that is where the negotiation still is.
Was the decision to include two additional counties taken at a meeting at which CSO representatives were present?
The work was done between the CSO and the Department of Finance. The submission went to the Ministers and Secretaries group and the decision was made there. The work and the compilation of data was carried out by the CSO and the Department of Finance, the two organisations which should do it.
Effectively, therefore, the CSO was absent from the meeting when the decision was taken. It could have been questioned about the statistical basis for the choices that were made and could have given a qualitative assessment, but it was left out.
No. All that work was done before it went to the Ministers and Secretaries group. The detail would not have been debated at that stage. The statistical and analytical work was done by the CSO and was properly prepared through the submission of the Department of Finance. It was then submitted to EUROSTAT.
The results are not good.
On a related but separate matter, the Taoiseach, in his reply on 10 February, stated that his Department is represented on the Department of Foreign Affairs interdepartmental committee on Ireland's Security Council candidature. In the travels made by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and other representatives of the Government, has the candidature been promoted? In the promotion of Ireland's candidature for a seat on the Security Council have issues regarding the reform of the Security Council, in terms of the composition of its permanent members, and related matters concerning the reform of the United Nations, been raised as a positive campaigning point by the Irish Government?
Definitely. All Ministers, in the course of the meetings they hold now and in the meetings they have held over many months, raise our canditure for the Security Council. We make our points, particularly regarding reform and our support for the reform process. I have discussed these matters with the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and we have promoted our support for his efforts at every opportunity.
In its campaign for membership of the Security Council, where does the Government stand on the reform of the Security Council and the introduction of new permanent members?
That question is getting us into a new area.
Presumably we have a policy on this issue if we are seeking membership.
Yes.
I wish to ask another question, with the forbearance of the Chair.
This must be the final supplementary.
I wish to add a second question to the pertinent question posed by the Leader of Fine Gael. Has the Government considered briefing Members of other political parties in the House who travel to different jurisdictions so they can be part of the campaign? This is a national issue and the present Administration clearly will not be in office when that seat is filled by an Irish representative.
I heard the Minister for Foreign Affairs seek that support on a number of occasions at Question Time. However, I will mention the point about briefing foreign affairs spokespeople to him, if that is not already taking place. Every Member of the House who travels abroad should participate in the campaign.
What about the other question?
That is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, we have clearly spelt out our position on the reform of the Security Council and—
Can the Taoiseach make it available to the rest of us?
The Taoiseach wants the Germans and the Japanese on, who does he want off? Is the Security Council to get so big that it will involve everybody in the UN, like another Objective One?
Good try.
At least we have a clear policy on the reform of the UN, unlike the previous Government.
What is the policy?
We must proceed to question No. 5.