Written answers
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Department of Justice, Equality and Defence
Appointments to State Boards
2:00 pm
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will provide a list of all appointments to State boards, including any appointments to the position of chairperson shown separately, he has made since coming to office; the details of any remuneration or expenses arrangement that applies in respect of each appointment; the vacancies on the boards that had been publicly advertised; and the prospective nominees that went before the Oireachtas committee for questioning. [29264/11]
Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The bodies under the aegis of my Department are the Civil Defence Board, the Army Pensions Board and the Board of Coiste an Asgard. The Civil Defence Act 2002 provides that the Board shall consist of at least eight but not more than fourteen members who shall be appointed by the Minister for Defence. Legislation is currently being drafted to dissolve the Civil Defence Board and transfer the functions of the Board back into the Department of Defence. I appointed the current Board as an interim measure from 11 July 2011. Membership of the interim Board appointed from 11 July 2011 is set out in the following table:
| Name | Nominating Bodies |
| Civil Defence Board Chairperson | |
| Mr. Brian SpainDirector, Department of Defence | Nominated by Minister for Defence |
| Civil Defence Board Members | |
| Mr. Cathal DuffyPrincipal Officer, Department of Defence | Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
| Ms. Clare TiernanPrincipal Officer, Department of Defence | Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
| Mr. Robert MooneyPrincipal Officer, Department of Defence | Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
| Mr. Bill SmithDirector General, Civil Defence Board | Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board |
| Mr. Ned GleesonCounty Manager, Limerick City Council | Nominated by City & County Managers Association |
| Mr. Keith LeonardAssistant Fire Advisor | Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government |
| Dr. Barbara Rafferty | Nominated by Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland |
| Ms. Becci Cantrell | Nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency |
| Ms. Veronica FordeAssistant Civil Defence Officer | Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers Association |
| Lt. Col. Tony KellySSO, Defence Forces | Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces |
| Detective Superintendent Orla Mc PartlinAn Garda Síochána | Nominated by the Commissioner of An GardaSíochána |
| Mr. Fergal Conroy | Elected volunteer member of Civil Defence |
| Ms. Eileen Joyce | Elected staff member of the Civil Defence Board |
There is no remuneration attached to membership of the Civil Defence Board. However, members are entitled to claim reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses in accordance with Department of Finance guidelines.
No appointments have been made to the Army Pensions Board or to the Board of Coiste an Asgard since I took office as Minister for Defence. In the context of settling the Estimates for the Department of Defence for 2010, the Government decided that the national sail training scheme operated by Coiste an Asgard would be discontinued as recommended in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure. As a result, no funding was provided in 2010 or 2011. No appointments have been made since that decision was taken and the Board will be dissolved shortly.
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