asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a management advisory committee and a system of accountable management on the lines envisaged in the 1985 White Paper on the Public Service Serving the Public Better are now in operation in his Department; and, if not, whether he has any plans to introduce such a system.

A Management Committee on the lines envisaged in the White Paper on the Public Service is in operation in my Department. Where possible, individual managers have been given responsibility for particular programmes and activities.