Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the money saved if all State agency board member payments in his Department were reduced by €10,000 where their current annual payment is in excess of €50,000. [22737/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The following is a summary of fees paid (2011 rates) to members of Boards of bodies under the aegis of my Department.

- The Chairperson of FÁS receives €20,520, while ordinary members receive €11,790.

- The Chairperson of the Grangegorman Development Agency receives €8,978, while ordinary members do not receive any payment.

- The Chairperson of the Higher Education Authority receives €11,970 while ordinary members receive €7,695.

- The Chairperson of the Skillnets Ltd receives €8,978 while ordinary members receive €5,985.

- The Chairperson of the State Examinations Commission receives €11,970 while the other Commissioners receive €7,695.

As the Deputy will note, none of these payments exceeds €50,000. In addition, no fees are paid to board members in relation to any of the other bodies under the aegis of my Department except as outlined below.

In the case of both the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) and the Residential Institutions Review Committee (RIRC) ordinary members are paid a per diem rate which in both cases is currently €668 per day (pension abatement applies were appropriate). While it may be the case that fees for ordinary members of both of these bodies could exceed €50,000 p.a. the Deputy should note that the per diem rate paid in respect of both the RIRB and RIRC was the subject of an initial reduction of 8% from 1st March 2009 and a further reduction of 12% from 1st January 2011. The Chairperson of the RIRC is paid by the Department based on annual salary for a Supreme Court judge subject to abatement. The Chairperson of the RIRB is a current member of the Judiciary who is not paid by the Board.

In addition ordinary members of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse (CICA) were salaried - however they are no longer on the payroll while the Chairperson is a member of the judiciary who is not paid by the CICA.