Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he has any proposals to rationalise the offices and agencies operating under the aegis of his Department. [18787/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to my Department, the main rationalisation relates to the decision to merge the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority. At the time the merger of the two bodies was announced, work on the review of the operation and implementation of the 2002 Competition Act was well underway. The submissions received following a public consultation process were being considered as was the report and recommendations of the Advisory Group on Media Mergers. Rather than give effect to the amalgamation of the Authority and NCA in a stand-alone piece of legislation, to be followed in due course by legislation to amend, reform and update the 2002 Act, it was decided to introduce a single comprehensive Bill. This Bill will include provisions, not only to create the new consumer and competition body, but also to: - update the existing competition law; - strengthen the public interest test in respect of media mergers, in line with the report of the Advisory Group on Media Mergers; - make some minor amendments to the consumer protection legislation; - enable the drawing-up of a statutory code of conduct for the grocery goods sector; and - give effect to the Government commitment under "Towards 2016" regarding the exemption of certain specified categories of vulnerable workers from competition law. I hope to publish this Bill later in 2010.

Separately, the Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) which was established in May 2002, as an independent, autonomous, non-statutory body, to consider the ethical issues in science and medicine raised by developments in biotechnology has until this year been funded by my Department. The future position of ICB was reviewed in the context of the general review of expenditure undertaken across all sectors in 2009 by the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (the McCarthy Report), and the outcome of this review was to the effect that "D/ET&E proposed a saving of €0.4m through discontinuing the funding of the Irish Council for Bioethics and this is accepted by the Special Group". The Report also indicated that the further issue of assigning some of the Council's functions to the health sector would have to be considered, if necessary, by the Department of Health & Children within existing expenditure and staff resources. Having regard to the recommendations in the McCarthy Report and in the light of other pending Government initiatives, the Tánaiste, in her then capacity as Minister responsible for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's vote, agreed with the Minister for Health and Children and the Minister for Finance earlier this year that the three staff in the secretariat to the ICB should be seconded to the Department of Health and Children, so that their expertise could be availed of appropriately. The funding allocation that had been made available to my Department for 2010 has accordingly been transferred to the Department of Health and Children of foot of this agreement.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to examine recommendations for the rationalization of other agencies as recommended in the McCarthy Report. Public Sector reform is a key competitiveness issue and I will be keeping this matter under constant review.