Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 December 2012
136. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the management structure of his Department; the specific responsibilities of the Secretary General, of each assistant secretary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57525/12]
View answerThe administrative head of my Department is the Secretary General, who is principally responsible for the implementation of Government policy insofar as it relates to responsibilities relating to jobs, enterprise and innovation. He is also responsible for overseeing the functions and outputs of the various offices within my Department’s remit. He also has overall responsibility for effective management of my Department’s finances and people resources.
My Department is organised into five Divisions, each headed at senior management level by an Assistant Secretary. Each Assistant Secretary has responsibility for implementation of policy relating to specific functional areas set out as follows.
-Competitiveness and Jobs, which drives the Competitiveness and Jobs Agenda.
-Innovation and Investment which works to promote a competitive, productive enterprise environment which attracts foreign investment, supports indigenous enterprise and encourages export-led growth.
-Commerce, Consumer and Competition which is concerned with delivering an environment for business in which competitiveness, dynamism and productivity flourishes and in which there is consumer and investor confidence.
-Labour Affairs which works to establish and protect employment rights and to provide the policy, legislative and institutional framework within which good industrial relations prosper.
-Corporate Services and EU Affairs and Trade Policy. The mission of Corporate Services is to further the development of staff, support structures and systems to assist the Department in achieving its objectives and in implementing a programme of continuous improvement; the mission of EU Affairs and Trade Policy Division is to define, coordinate and develops our position on EU policy matters and our relationship with EU Institutions. It is responsible for the identification, formulation and development of Ireland’s international trade policies.
The Secretary General and five Assistant Secretaries along with the CEO of Forfás form the Department’s Management Board. The role of the Board is to ensure that the Department is managed as a corporate entity. Decisions on key policy, strategic and management issues are taken collectively by the Board before implementation or submission for consideration at a political level.
