Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Louise O’Reilly TD, has said that the churn rate of Ministers and Ministers of State at the Department of Enterprise is ridiculous and the resulting confusion is not good for workers and business.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“In four years, the Department of Enterprise has seen three different Ministers and five different Ministers of State.

“Three successive Taoisigh have treated the Department like a halfway house – the churn rate of Ministers is ridiculous.

“The outworking of this situation is that stakeholders are totally confused, and I have no doubt the public and civil service are too.

“Business groups and trade unions who have built up relationships with the outgoing Minister and Minister of State must now spend more time doing introductory meetings and conveying their priorities and key issues.

“For many, this will be the eighth such meeting they will have had in 48 months.

“It is important that the Minister Burke and Minister of State Higgins meet with the necessary stakeholders immediately and get read into their briefs as quickly as possible.”