Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Minister for Transport the details and outcome of the past three reviews by his Department's Governance Support Division of compliance by his Department's State bodies with the code of practice, in particular to name the State bodies that have not achieved full compliance; the reason for same; the action taken by him; the results of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24394/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Details of the Review carried out in late 2009 were given in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 282 of 1st June 2010.

Details of the reviews carried out previously to this are set out below:

The key findings of a review completed in February 2008 on compliance with the code of practice were that Department's monitoring divisions reported that 21 State Bodies under the aegis of the Department were compliant. The 10 Harbour Authorities were not reported as being compliant. A review completed in late 2008 considered the level of compliance with the Code of Practice as satisfactory. It reported that deficiencies identified were being addressed and that the recent 'Change in Tone' corporate governance initiative by the Minister had set the scene for improved standards of reporting and compliance for 2009 onwards.

The Review noted that issues relating to compliance with the Code of Practice by Port Companies had been the subject of a separate audit and that issues identified were being addressed by the relevant Divisions within the Department. It further noted that the development of a standard reporting template by the Department for use by chairpersons should achieve better standards in reporting and compliance by the Port Companies.

The Review reported that a delay in completing audits by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General were a serious barrier for some Bodies in meeting their reporting deadlines under the Code of Practice. The Review referenced the National Roads Authority by way of example.

In September 2007 the Department reviewed if all Bodies under the Department's remit were in compliance with Paragraph 10.2 of the 2001 Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.

This provision required the Chairperson of each Body to confirm, inter alia, in his or her annual report to the Minister that the Code of Practice had been adopted and was being complied with.

At the same time, the Department also reviewed the position regarding the establishment of an internal audit function in the agencies as required under Section 3 of the Code of Practice.

In relation to confirmation by the Chairperson, the review found that confirmation had been received in all, except two cases. In the two cases involved, a response from the relevant Division in the Department was awaited in relation to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety and the Commission for Taxi Regulation regarding the compliance confirmation and the internal audit function. In relation to the internal audit function, the review noted that all Bodies had an internal audit function in place with the exception of a number of Port companies where internal audit units were not established (Drogheda, Waterford, Wicklow, Dundalk and New Ross). The review noted that these five did have an Audit Committee in place.

The Review recognised that the requirement for a properly constituted internal audit function may present difficulties for some of the very small State bodies and noted that in some cases alternative approaches were being examined in consultation with the Department's Internal Audit Unit. The revised Code of Practice, published in May 2009, subsequently provided the opportunity for greater flexibility in relation to the internal function audit for smaller State Bodies.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for Transport the arrangements that are in place to implement policy in relation to determining and approving the remuneration of each chief executive officer and managing director under the auspices of his Department; the salary of each such chief executive officer and managing director; if such arrangements have been breached in the past three years and the person involved; if he has taken any action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24605/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The salary scales of Chief Executives of commercial State bodies are reviewed from time to time by the Minister for Finance and based on comparisons with posts in the private sector.

Salary ranges recommended through this system – known as the "Hay Rates" - were last approved by Government in 2007, with a further general sanction by the Department of Finance for revised pay ranges with effect from 1st September 2008. In some cases, chief executives are on non-Hay rates. These are primarily cases where chief executives had already been on salaries higher than the Hay rates and opted not to move to a Hay contract.

Chief Executives of non-commercial State companies and agencies come within the remit of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration and have been subject to the salary reductions provided for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No.2) Act 2009.

The salary scale of each Chief Executive was provided to the Deputy in response to Parliamentary Question No. 75 of 10th February 2010. These reflected the salary reductions imposed on the non-commercial State Bodies from January 2010.

In relation to the commercial State companies, some Chief Executives may have taken a voluntary salary reduction in the interim.

My Department is currently reviewing compliance with the current arrangements.