Vol. 536 No. 2
5 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the proposed changes at Secretary General level within his Department; the reason for the decision to merge the positions of Secretary General to his Department and Secretary General to the Government; if it is intended to appoint a new Second Secretary to deal with Northern Ireland matters; if so, when this appointment will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11915/01]
The Government decided on 10 April to appoint Mr. Dermot Gallagher as Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs with effect from 7 July, when Mr. Padraic MacKernan is to relinquish the position. Mr. Gallagher is currently Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach.
The Government took the opportunity to consider the current organisation of the Department of the Taoiseach and decided that, in the interest of the effective co-ordination and integration of the range of functions which that Department discharges, it would make sense to consolidate the posts of Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and Secretary General to the Government. Accordingly, Mr. Dermot McCarthy, who is currently Secretary General to the Government, is to assume the position of Sec retary General of the Department of the Taoiseach upon Mr. Gallagher's transfer in July.
It makes sense, particularly in a small Department like that of the Taoiseach which has only five assistant secretaries, to have a single administrative head with clear and unified lines of responsibility.
However, in view of the importance of the Taoiseach's role in Northern Ireland, European and international affairs, the Government also decided on my recommendation to create a new post of Second Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility for those matters. The Government has decided to appoint to this position Mr. Michael Collins, who is currently serving as Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Is this a change from the previous structure where there was a Secretary General to the Department of the Taoiseach and a Secretary General to the Government? Can the Taoiseach outline the difference in relation to the functioning of his Department? Previously there has been a parallel structure and now there is a senior Secretary General and a Second Secretary General. What will be the reporting relationship between the two?
I am reverting to a position which pertained for political purposes about 20 years ago. The old Department of Economic Planning was abolished and its duties transferred to the Department of the Taoiseach, and the dual positions were established. It has been raised many times as being unsatisfactory by many of my predecessors over the years because there were two accounting officers and the lines of demarcation, or what sections were answerable for what, were not always clear. Now, Mr. McCarthy is Secretary General to the Government and will assume the position of Secretary General to the Department of the Taoiseach.
He is the sole accounting officer.
He is the sole accounting person. All assistant secretaries and second secretaries will be answerable to him. Everybody is familiar with the large work load relating to Northern Ireland, EU and international affairs, and the Second Secretary General will be responsible for these areas and will be answerable to the Secretary General.
In the announcement regarding Mr. Michael Collins's appointment as Second Secretary General, a number of ambassadorial announcements were made. Did the Department of the Taoiseach, having regard to its responsibility for the enlargement process, consider extending residential ambassadorial representation to the capitals of the applicant countries where we currently do not have a resident ambassador? If not, why not?
This issue has been discussed and debated and there have been some extensions in terms of embassies. In the Joint Committee on European Affairs it is an ongoing issue, as it is in the Estimates of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the intention is to continue to develop the service in these countries.
The Secretary General to the Government was not ever an accounting officer. Why did the Taoiseach find it necessary to merge the two offices, particularly given that the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach already has a very heavy work load whereas the Secretary to the Cabinet helps the Cabinet in recording and implementing decisions? Where did the issue of merging accounting officers arise?
The Secretary General to the Government would not act in that role as accounting officer, but has always had other duties and functions. The present Secretary General to the Government also dealt with economic and social issues such as the Strategic Management Initiative and social partnership. He was answerable as accounting officer in these areas. The previous Secretary General, Mr. Frank Murray, had a number of duties other than his role as Secretary to the Government. This created difficulties for individuals during my period in office as well as during other periods evidently, as the matter was raised by my predecessors. The fact that Mr. Gallagher transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs provided an opportunity to deal with the issue which has been on the agenda for approximately 15 years.
The Taoiseach will be aware that under the legislation the Secretary General to the Government has a certain role to play in regard to the compellability of witnesses attending committees of this House. Given that the roles of Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General to his Department are being merged, will he confirm that the independence of the role of the Secretary General to the Government in adjudicating on the attendance of witnesses before Oireachtas committees will not be diluted?
The issue was looked at and I confirm that it will not create problems.
Questions Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, resubmitted.
