asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism if the management committee on industrial policy comprising the chief executives of the development agencies has yet been established; if so, when it was established; the number of meetings held; the names of the members; and the matters that have been discussed by this committee and are still under consideration.

The Management Committee on Industrial Policy was established and held its inaurgural meeting on 2 August 1984. It has met once since and another meeting is planned for 25 February. The committee, which is under the chairmanship of my Department, is comprised of the chief executives of the industrial development agencies and a senior representative of the Department of Finance. The agencies represented are the IDA, CTT, IIRS, SFADCo, AnCO, NBST, Fóir Teoranta, IGC, ICC and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The topics discussed by the committee to date include the following: Co-ordinated Company Development Approach; Product Development; One Stop Shops; National Linkage Programme; Selectively in State Aid to Industry; Quality Control.

As I indicated in my recent statement on action on White Paper Policies, progress can be reported in the following areas:

One-Stop Shops which will provide under one roof convenient and comprehensive information on industrial aids available from all the State agencies will be in operation from April 1 this year in all regional centres;

National Linkage Programme — 40-50 companies are to be selected this year and helped gear themselves for linkage contracts;

Company Development — Development programmes for 50 Irish companies which are now being selected by the State agencies will get under way this year.

Apart from reviewing progress in these areas, the committee will in future deal with, inter alia, the following subjects: monitoring of industrial performance; review of progress on new marketing initiatives; the food processing industry; and intensification of advisory and training services.

Who did the Minister say was the chairman?

Myself or the Secretary of my Department.

Does the Minister regard this co-ordinating committee as being supposed to make a very worthwhile, useful and positive contribution towards industrial co-ordination and so on? If he does so regard it, can he explain to the House why, over a period of six months, the committee met no more than once or twice at best?

At their meeting in August the committee set a detailed work programme for themselves which involved bilateral and trilateral consultations between various agencies. It was felt it would be better if these agencies would meet to hammer out details before the next meeting so that everything would be worked out and that the next meeting could record further progress. As I indicated in the second half of my reply, I agree that the pace needs to be speeded up further and I have arranged that the committee will meet at six-weekly intervals.

Is it intended that the committee will deal in any way with duplication between the various State bodies?

Yes. The committee have already settled the company development approach and in regard to product development clear guidelines are being set concerning the role of CCT and the IDA.

I do not want to quibble, but can the Minister say why we have waited until 1984-85 before establishing a talking arrangement between the CEOs of the agencies? I understood that the CEOs had a day by day arrangement about co-ordinating their activities. Is there a suggestion in the setting up of this committee that heretofore these agencies have not acted as a unit in Irish interests, that the CEOs were not getting together in the absence of a highpowered committee? Apparently they did on one occasion. I find the reply an eye opener in regard to industrial policy here.

Until now arrangements were made on an ad hoc basis between the individual agencies under the overall supervision of the Department but there was no common institution in the Department to bring them together. It was felt there was a need for such a common institution to formalise this co-operation and to ensure that the pace will be quickened.

Deputy S. Brennan rose.

I will call Question No. 8, for certain reasons.

Does the Minister agree that the country is being smothered by committees at a time when we do not apparently realise that one in every five is out of work?

Deputy Gregory has been sitting here for nearly an hour. Question No. 8.