Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The amendment seeks to insert in subsection (2) paragraph (k) Financial Services Ombudsman Council. Are there staff attached to the council or is it just a body that meets? If there are staff attached to it, were they formerly staff of the Financial Regulator's Office and what type of people are being included under this paragraph? I know this section deals with superannuation and remuneration but the amendment seeks to add paragraph (k) Financial Services Ombudsman Council, to the list of bodies with which the Minister will deal, namely, Central Bank Commission, Investor Compensation Company Limited, Credit Union Advisory Committee, National Treasury Management Agency, National Treasury Management Agency Advisory Committee, National Development Finance Agency, National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission, National Asset Management Agency, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau.

Is there are a case for some of these bodies to be merged? I would like to know the organisational structure of these organisations. I acknowledge that some of them are stand alone organisations and that the Central Bank Commission is different to the National Pensions Reserve Fund. The National Development Finance Agency was tasked some years ago with dealing with public bodies procuring assets worth more than €20 million. Such bodies had to, apart from in the tendering process, obtain clearance from the National Development Finance Agency which is an offshoot of the National Treasury Management Agency. Much of the work done by the National Development Finance Agency relates to providing advice on the financing of public private partnerships in relation to motorways, roads or schools. I recall that the National Development Finance Agency had to approve financing of the contract for the four schools built in Laois-Offaly. However, there are no new public private partnerships owing to the difficulty of raising money and the cost of capital. The Government is finding it difficult enough to raise its own funds without paying a premium to the private sector to finance some of these projects. The Minister will be aware that many of the planned public private partnerships have been withdrawn owing to the cost of financing projects.

Are there many staff attached to the National Development Finance Agency and what work does it perform now? Do we need it any more? Could staff attached to that body not be returned to their former offices? Perhaps the Minister will say if he believes there is scope for rationalisation of these bodies, many of which are creatures of the Celtic tiger era. The Minister knows the era these were all established. Are they all needed now?

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