Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2012
115. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Communications; Energy and Natural Resources the statutory powers that have been delegated to Ministers of State in his Department; and the date on which the statutory powers were delegated. [40776/12]
View answerThe Minister of State at my Department, Mr Fergus O’Dowd T.D., has been delegated with certain of my statutory functions in relation to energy and natural resources matters. The functions in question relate to the Natural Resources area and include Mineral and Petroleum Exploration, Inland Fisheries and the Geological Survey of Ireland.
These statutory powers were delegated to Minister of State O’Dowd in accordance with S.I. No. 631 of 2011, Energy and Natural Resources (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order 2011, on 6 December 2011. In line with the statutory position, I retain all powers and duties relating to the Department, including those referred to above, being responsible to the Dáil and as a member of the Government for the exercise and performance of all such powers and duties.
