With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
As a contribution to the National Understanding for Economic and Social Development, the Government have indicated that they would provide for the establishment of a National Enterprise Agency as one of a number of measures to promote employment. The functions of the proposed agency would be to establish organisational responsibility for the commercial exploitation of new development opportunities by the State where such opportunities are not being exploited by the private sector, and to provide a mechanism to ensure that commercially oriented research and development was effectively applied in the economy. It is also envisaged that the agency would engage directly in manufacturing, service and trading activities either by itself or in partnership with other organisations in the public or private sector and that it would be operated on a commercial basis. There would be appropriate representation of employer and trade union interests on its board of directors. It is envisaged that the agency would function as a self-contained entity; hence no special problems of co-ordination between it and existing State-sponsored bodies are anticipated. However, to the extent that the need for co-ordination arises, it will be provided for. Finally, as to the particular areas of activity in which the agency would become involved, these would be decided upon primarily by the agency itself in the light of its own assessments of investment possibilities.