asked the Taoiseach the new areas of responsibility which have been allocated to his Department; the number of extra civil servants who have been deployed as a result and the plans, if any, he has to increase his own Department.

The only change in the responsibilities of my Department has been the strengthening of the co-ordination of European Community matters which already existed in my Department through the Ministerial Committee on EC affairs. I indicated in the House on 10 March last that I proposed that a Minister of State of my Department would be specially concerned, among other duties, with the EC co-ordination carried out by the existing Ministerial Committee. The Government subsequently appointed Deputy Máire Geoghegan-Quinn to this post of Minister of State.

One additional civil servant has been transferred on loan to my Department to work in the office of a Minister of State.