In whose opinion do these task forces provide effective opportunities to companies in difficulties? To whom do these task forces report? What is the rate of success in creating jobs and, indeed, in saving jobs?
The Minister of State stated that no audit has been done by the Department. Has any external independent evaluation ever been undertaken of the effectiveness of these agencies, including the 35 county enterprise boards, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and Údarás na Gaeltachta? Would the Minister of State agree that what we have, with all of these agencies and with the plethora of these task forces, is not really a business development strategy but a business development bureaucracy? Does he agree that we need to support and reward indigenous industry when it engages in research and development strategies which will develop long-term sustainable employment and training and development, and that this approach would be much more effective in preventing the need for all of these so-called task forces in the first instance?