Written answers

Thursday, 1 April 2010

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Departmental Agencies

4:00 am

Photo of Jack WallJack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position of the amalgamation of the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office of Social Inclusion; if the officials have moved to their new offices; the cost of such a move if any; the cost of the change of websites, published documents and so on due to the change; if all the changes of such have now been completed; the staffing structure of the new agency; if the agency is sharing its facilities with any other such agency or Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14255/10]

Photo of Jack WallJack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position of the strategic plan for the integration of the Combat Poverty Agency and the Social Inclusion Agency; the number of staff assigned to this sector; the status of the staff assigned; the comparison of these numbers to the previous numbers of both agencies and their original status; the number of complaints made to this sector since the amalgamation; the status of the complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14253/10]

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 134 together.

The primary reason for the integration of the Combat Poverty Agency with the Office for Social Inclusion was to ensure that the strongest possible mechanisms are in place to tackle poverty and social exclusion as recommended in the review of the Combat Poverty Agency. The role of the Division is to support the Government in developing and implementing the strategies for preventing, reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty and social exclusion. This includes promoting greater social inclusion and social cohesion in collaboration with other stakeholders including, in particular, people experiencing poverty.

With effect from 1st July 2009 (in line with the Government Decision announced in Budget 2009), the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office for Social Inclusion were integrated to form the Social Inclusion Division within the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Social Inclusion Division combines the experience and expertise of the staff of both bodies and is currently located in the Department's offices in Townsend St, Dublin 2.

The necessary legislative provisions were contained in Part 5 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008. The legislation provided that the permanent staff of the Agency would become civil servants with effect from the date of the Commencement Order on 1st July 2009. There were 26 staff in the Division on the date of the Commencement Order. There are 20 staff at all grades from Principal Officer to Clerical Officer in the Division at present.

Savings as a result of the integration include savings that arise in respect of board members' fees, accommodation and savings that arise as a result of the integration of support services such as combined personnel, payroll and ancillary services. Savings also arise on account of the non-filling of a number of short-term temporary staff positions that ended in June 2009 and as a result of the redeployment of a small number of administrative and HR support staff. It was envisaged that the extent and timing of the savings would be identified and dealt with as part of the implementation process with measures that could be advanced quickly to achieve administrative efficiencies and cost savings prioritised.

In accordance with the terms of the lease in place for the offices of the former Combat Poverty Agency, the annual rent is €228,000 plus a service charge of €27,000. The Department will exercise its rights to break out of the lease in March 2011. There will be no penalty for exercising this option. The Department will use the space for its own Departmental purposes in the meantime. The integration of the websites of the Office for Social Inclusion and the Combat Poverty Agency will be undertaken on an in house basis during this year. The Social Inclusion Division's Strategic Plan is currently available on www.socialinclusion.ie.

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