Written Answers. - Departmental Appointments.
Nora Owen
Ceist:
74
Mrs. Owen
asked the
Taoiseach
the number of committees, expert groups, outside agencies and study groups he has set up since July 1997; the topic each group is examining; the number of members in each group; when each group is due to report; and the costs, if any, associated with each group.
[10684/98]
The establishment of an implementation group of nine secretaries general and heads of office with a mandate to drive the Strategic Management Initiative forward within the Civil Service was announced in July 1997. The group commenced meeting in September 1997 and reports on progress to Government, through the SMI co-ordinating group, every three months. The group is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and comprises eight other members drawn from a number of Government Departments-offices. No additional costs are incurred by the Department of the Taoiseach in association with the work of this group.
Following consideration of the report of the steering group on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Garda Síochána in November 1997 the Government decided to establish an implementation steering group with a mandate to: develop the overall implementation plan in respect of the recommendations of the report of the steering group on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Garda Síochána; commence immediately the "bottom-up review" recommended in the report; and develop an approach to addressing the cross-organisational issues identified in the steering group report.
The implementation steering group, which commenced work in January 1998, is chaired by Mr. Kevin Bonner of Business Insight and former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and includes 21 other members including representatives from Government Departments-offices, the Garda Síochána and unions. The steering group has been asked to report to the Government within six months, setting out their initial proposals for implementation and will report regularly to Government thereafter. No additional costs are incurred by the Department of the Taoiseach in association with the work of this group.
In addition to the above, a full-time Implementation Team comprising five members drawn from the Garda Síochána and of the Department of the Justice, Equality and Law Reform has also been put in place to assist the steering group.
A high level working group to examine the issue of trade union recognition was established on 1 August 1997 under the terms of Partnership 2000. The group comprised 16 members, which included representatives of ICTU, IBEC, Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, IDA Ireland and Forbairt. The group explored the different approaches to trade union recognition and what their implications might be in the Irish context. Costs associated with the group totalled £2,110.80. The group reported to the Tánaiste and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in December 1997. It is envisaged that the group will be reconvened to continue its work.
A project group to examine the progression of labour market intervention measures was established in October 1997, on foot of paragraph 4.24 of Partnership 2000. The group comprised 21 members which included representatives of the social partner organisations and the Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Finance, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. There were no costs associated with the workings of the group. The work of the group concluded in November 1997 with the recommendation that 2,000 additional places be created under the part-time jobs option, and wholetime jobs initiative.
A partnership committee is being established in my Department. The function of the committee is to draw up and implement an action plan programme to give practical effect in the Department to the strategy statement and the range of initiatives being brought forward under the Strategic Management Initiative. The partnership committee will then have a role in monitoring the implementation of the action programme and ensuring that verifiable results are being achieved. The committee will be chaired by the Secretary General of the Department and will, initially, comprise ten members drawn from management and unions. It will be expanded at a later stage to bring in other members of staff. It is expected that the committee's action programme will be drawn up by the end of the year. Apart from certain training-facilitation costs, the operating costs of the committee will be minimal.
An Interdepartmental Committee for the Protection of Classified Information was established by the Government in November 1997. The Committee has ten members and has reported to Government on two occasions. Apart from routine costs associated with such committees — photocopying, catering, etc. — there are no other costs associated with this committee.
In February, 1998 the Government announced the establishment, following consultation with the Opposition parties, of an all-party Oireachtas committee on the strategic management Initiative. The committee comprises 14 members.
The terms of reference are as follows: to consider and report to both Houses of the Oireachtas on progress on the programme of modernisation for the Civil Service outlined in Delivering Better Government having regard to: reports from the SMI implementation group of Secretaries General and Heads of Offices to the co-ordinating group on the SMI; action by Departments and offices on chapter 10 of Partnership 2000 for inclusion, employment and competitiveness; strategy statements of Departments and offices; and any legislative proposals initiated to progress the programme of change. The secretariat of the committee is provided by the Department of the Taoiseach. An allocation of £50,000 has been established by the Department of the Taoiseach for the support of the committee during 1998.
The all-party Oireachtas committee on the Constitution which lapsed on dissolution of the Dáil in mid-May 1997, was reconstituted on 16 October 1997. The committee was initially established on 3 July 1996, with a view to drawing up a detailed programme of constitutional change arising from the report of the Constitution Review Group. As with the Constitution Review Group, the secretariat for the committee is provided by the Institute of Public Administration.
The committee proposes to examine the institutions of the State, including the Seanad on which the earlier committee had issued a progress report and the scope for participation by people living in Northern Ireland in national political life. The Government has also agreed that the review of the electoral system envisaged in An Action Programme for the Millennium would be undertaken in the first instance by the committee. The committee hopes to report before the end of 1998 on these issues.
The committee uses the report of the Constitution Review Group as a basis for discussion, invites written and oral submissions from interested parties on the issues under discussion and then produces progress reports on sets of issues that could be grouped together for referenda. The committee has 12 members. Its budget for 1998 is £240,000.
