104 Mr. Cosgrave asked the Minister for Defence the number of task forces or special committees set up in his Department since 1997; the date they were established; the terms of reference of each; if they have reported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24486/01]

Other than departmental committees which are established on an ongoing basis, the following task forces and special committees have been set up in my Department since 1997. The naval and air services consultation group was established in November, 1998 on foot of the special studies of the Air Corps and Naval Service conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants. The group's remit was to provide inputs to the naval and air services planning process which culminated with the completion of the naval service implementation plan and the air corps implementation plan. Following the completion of its work, the group was disbanded in June 2001. In September 2001, the Naval Service joint implementation team was established to oversee the implementation of the Naval Service implementation plan. It is envisaged that the team will report progress in due course.