STILL on the public sector Bill, where on earth did the Government come up with this secretary-general title for heads of Departments in the first place?

Apparently the Government decided that the title "secretary" was a relic of the British system and that "secretary general" sounded more European. The Margin's mole says that the Cabinet first considered the title "director general", before settling on the title with UN overtones.

Presenting the document yesterday, Ruairi Quinn said that the term "secretary" often caused confusion overseas. He referred to the famous occasion in Japan, where Kevin Bonner, secretary of the Department of Enterprise and Employment, was asked by the official introducer what his title was. Explaining that it was secretary, he helpfully added that this was similar to the British title "permanent secretary". This, however, sent the official into information overload and he grandly introduced Mr Bonner as the "everlasting typist".