As the committee is reasonably pleased with the sub-committee that has been appointed, perhaps the committee might now delegate to it the task of appointing a steering committee, without any great authority or anything else, to work out proposals for our next meeting.

I suggest the sub-committee should act as a steering committee. I should mention that, on the PAC Committee, we had great difficulty in regard to reporting, through no fault of the Reporting Staff but simply because of the inadequacy of the number on the Reporting Staff. Would the sub-committee take up with the Ceann Comhairle the question of recruiting adequate staff? The standard must be high because of the verbatim nature of the report. Unless we do something now we may find ourselves in great difficulty in October.

It is very important that this matter should be taken up with the Ceann Comhairle.

We will do that.

We have discussed the position of the senior civil servants abroad and the provision of back-up services. May I discuss at our next meeting the difficulties every one of us, without exception, finds himself in in his constituency vis-�-vis secretarial services? He is absent for one-third of the year on the Continent. Is there a possibility of the Minister for Foreign Affairs taking this into consideration?

I think he should and the Deputy would be returned unopposed.

Are there any matters of business lined up for the next meeting to tell us what we will be here for?

The steering committee will put some positive proposals before the next meeting.

And we will get some information before the next meeting.

Yes. There will be an agenda before us.

Will the regulations and so on be circulated to members?

Yes. Our Clerk has given me a list of all the regulations and they will be circulated straight away.

The Committee adjourned until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 5th September, 1973.