Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of agencies, authorities and other bodies coming within the Department's remit that operate independent payroll systems and the reason such a function could not be provided by the Department. [6802/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department.

The Social Welfare Tribunal and the Pensions Ombudsman do not operate independent payroll systems. All payments are processed by the Accounts Branch of the Department of Social Protection. The Citizens Information Board (CIB) operates independent payroll software called Pascal Paymaster (2011 Release 1). There are 120 individuals on the CIB payroll (including pensioners). The Pensions Board is a statutory body comprising of 40 employees, a chairperson and sixteen ordinary members. Since inception, the Board has undertaken the role of operating an independent payroll system. The issue of shared services including payroll services is being examined as part of the transformation of public services.