asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he will give details of (a) the monitoring and reviewing of industrial progress, (b) the identifying of obstacles to industrial growth and the suggesting of solutions, and (c) the co-ordination of activities of existing State agencies to maximise their contribution to industrial development that has been carried out by the Industrial Development Consortium.

I would refer the Deputy to the reply to a question on this matter on 26 April 1978, which summarised the activities of the consortium to that date. I would add that the studies referred to in that reply are in progress.

Will the Minister state if the consortium have held any further meetings since that date?

Not since the answer given previously.

Will the Minister state on how many occasions the consortium have met since their inception?

That is set out in the previous reply.

Will the Minister state if there has been any increase on the three meetings held since the consortium were set up?

I have just answered Deputy Kelly on that.

Would the Minister agree that three is quite extraordinary since its inception?

I agree that three meetings have been held.

This is certainly progress.

Is the Minister telling the House that they have not met since last April?

Yes.

Would the Minister care to comment on that?

No.

I do not blame the Minister.

In view of the fact that this consortium have met on only three occasions since they were first established, is any useful purpose being served by the continuation of this organisation?

That is a separate question.

As in similar matters Deputy Desmond seems to have lost sight of what the whole role of this consortium was to be. This consortium were set up to give a new direction and sense of purpose. It is not necessary to have daily meetings to do that. The whole role of this consortium is flexibility and co-ordination. The optimum co-ordination is necessary to get the maximum contribution to industrial development.

We are not talking shop. We are there as a co-ordinating body.

The consortium seem to have no sense of purpose. What sense of purpose can they transmit to others? They have had three meetings. They have no office, no staff, no plant, no equipment.

4.