Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was determined at the commencement of the merger process that the most efficient and cost-effective way to enable the merger was to establish a fifth office within the EPA structure, the office of radiological protection. Section 19(3) of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 sets out that “The Agency shall consist of a Director General and four other directors”. It will be the function of the director general of the new merged organisation to arrange the distribution of the business of the agency among its directors but this must be done having regard to the statutory functions and requirements of the body. Accordingly, it would not be appropriate or desirable for legislation to prescribe the divisional organisations of the EPA or to confer one of the offices with a more pre-eminent or differential status.

Nonetheless, the EPA board, including directors of the new office of radiological protection, will have to continue to ensure that sufficient resources and effort are being directed at meeting all the merged body's functions. I have full confidence they will manage their expertise and resources accordingly. This approach reinforces the findings of an independent review of the EPA, published in May 2011, which concludedinter aliathat the flexibility and change management shown by the EPA is a major strength and should not be limited by overly-prescriptive statutory provisions governing the agency’s structure.

There will be savings of €260,000 per annum from 2016. There will no diminution of the commitment to radiological protection as a result of the merger so I do not propose to accept this amendment.

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