Written answers

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation

Departmental Bodies

9:00 pm

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 198: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action he has taken to date to fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government to make substantial cuts to the number of State bodies and companies; the number of such bodies and companies under his remit; the number that have been reformed, merged or abolished since March of this year; the plan in place within his Department to fully deliver on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32854/11]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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No State bodies or companies have been created or abolished by my Department since March 2011.

My Department currently has 13 State Agencies supporting us in our work. These are:

1. Enterprise Ireland

2. IDA Ireland

3. Science Foundation Ireland

4. Shannon Development

5. County & City Enterprise Boards (35)

6. National Standards Authority of Ireland

7. InterTradeIreland (the North / South Trade and Business Development Body)

8. Forfás

9. National Consumer Agency

10. The Competition Authority

11. Irish Auditing and Accounting Standards Authority

12. Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and

13. The Health & Safety Authority

In relation to Regulatory Agencies and Statutory bodies, my Department is working to effect the merger of the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority. As work on a review of the operation and implementation of the 2002 Competition Act was well underway, rather than give effect to the amalgamation of the NCA and Competition Authority 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 and Government has approved the drafting of the Consumer and Competition Bill in July 2011. It is expected that drafting of this Bill will be completed in the first half of 2012.

In relation to the Employment Rights and Industrial Relations bodies within my Department's remit, I have announced my intention to streamline the work of five bodies currently dealing with employment disputes in the workplace into a two-tier structure. Four of the existing bodies – the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, The Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court – are currently within my remit. One – the Equality Tribunal – is currently within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality. I expect this reform and streamlining project to deliver a measurable improvement in the quality of services provided to users of the State's employment rights/industrial relations dispute resolution services and reduce the burden of accessing such services for users and reduce costs to the State. I have announced an ambitious timeline for delivery, including a number of initiatives to be delivered by the end of this year, including a single portal of entry for all claims, a single website containing all relevant information and a single application form for workplace dispute claims.

Regarding the Enterprise agencies under my Department's remit, I am currently considering how the policy and research functions of Forfás could be integrated with my Department's resources to further enhance the formulation and development of national enterprise policy.

Work is well advanced in my Department on determining the extent of a restructuring of the network of CEBs in a way that brings greater cohesion to the way that local enterprise supports are embedded into the national enterprise policy framework and interact with key local stakeholders. My intention is to ensure appropriate and targeted local delivery of enterprise supports within the context of national enterprise policy in a manner which eliminates overlap and duplication and provides an enhanced focused model for entrepreneurs.

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