Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 143: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will confirm the total number of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos which currently exist within his Department; if he will provide a breakdown of each, listing in particular full name, location, the total amount of funding allocated to each in 2011 and total staff number; the number of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos which have been abolished or wound down since he took office, and the total amount of savings achieved with each closure; the number of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos being considered for abolition in the context of Budget 2012; if he will furnish a list of the organisations under consideration, specifying in particular their annual running costs, primary function, and staff number in tabular form; if there is a rationalisation programme in place within his Department in respect of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos for the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34900/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

My Department currently has 13 State Agencies and 8 Offices supporting us in our work. The Agencies are:

It should be noted that the funding allocations include also, where appropriate, the cost of grant aid to industry, as well as the normal administrative running costs of the Agency. A breakdown of costs as between payroll and administrative costs and grant aid to industry can be found under Vote 34 of the Revised Estimates Volume for 2011.

The 8 Offices supporting the work of the Department are: 9. The Patents Office 10. Companies Registration Office 11. Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies 12. Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement 13. Labour Relations Commission 14. Employment Appeals Tribunal 15. Labour Court 16. National Employment Rights Authority (NERA)

The staffing and funding requirements of all of the Offices are provided centrally by my Department. All of the Offices of the Department are located in Dublin, apart from the Patents Office which is based in Kilkenny. In addition, NERA is based in Carlow, although there are small regional offices based in Cork, Shannon, Dublin and Sligo. There is also an office of the Companies Registration Office in Carlow.

In the context of the Government's Programme of Public Sector Reform including rationalisation of the number of State Agencies and Bodies, at its meeting on 5th July, Government approved the drafting of a Bill to give effect to the amalgamation of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. As both bodies were established under statute, it is necessary to give effect to the newly merged body by way of primary legislation. The proposed Bill will also: update the existing competition law on foot a review of the operation and implementation of the 2002 Competition Act, strengthen the public interest test in respect of media mergers, in line with the report of the Advisory Group on Media Mergers, make some minor amendments to the consumer protection legislation, and provide for a Code of Practice for doing business in the Grocery Goods sector. 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 Forfas 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. iEach of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) are individual limited companies in their own right and therefore do not have a "Head Office". They do however have a CEB Central Coordination Unit located within El, based in Shannon providing day-to-day operational, technical and financial support (budgets and budgetary matters) to CEBs.

IIUnder the Central Bank Reform Act 2010, the consumer information and education functions carried out by the Financial Regulator were formally transferred to the Agency with effect from 1 January 2011. The cost of the Agency's financial services function is exchequer neutral as it is funded by a levy on regulated financial service providers. The Central Bank has agreed to collect the levy on the Agency's behalf for administrative reasons. In the interim, the Department is paying non-pay costs through Subhead R02 and the Central Bank is funding pay costs. The Department will be reimbursed when the levy is collected by the Central Bank later on in the year. The Central Bank administers the pay costs in relation to this function on behalf of the Agency. An allocation of €2m is included in the Estimates figure provided for the Agency and the staffing figure includes 18.9 whole-time equivalent staff in respect of these functions.

IIIThe PIAB is self-funded by fees paid for its services. The purpose of the provision of €58,000 is to reimburse PIAB in respect of pension payments made to retired staff.

IVEach of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) are individual limited companies in their own right and therefore do not have a "Head Office". They do however have a CEB Central Coordination Unit located within El, based in Shannon providing day-to-day operational, technical and financial support (budgets and budgetary matters) to CEBs.

VUnder the Central Bank Reform Act 2010, the consumer information and education functions carried out by the Financial Regulator were formally transferred to the Agency with effect from 1 January 2011. The cost of the Agency's financial services function is exchequer neutral as it is funded by a levy on regulated financial service providers. The Central Bank has agreed to collect the levy on the Agency's behalf for administrative reasons. In the interim, the Department is paying non-pay costs through Subhead R02 and the Central Bank is funding pay costs. The Department will be reimbursed when the levy is collected by the Central Bank later on in the year. The Central Bank administers the pay costs in relation to this function on behalf of the Agency. An allocation of €2m is included in the Estimates figure provided for the Agency and the staffing figure includes 18.9 whole-time equivalent staff in respect of these functions.

VIThe PIAB is self-funded by fees paid for its services. The purpose of the provision of €58,000 is to reimburse PIAB in respect of pension payments made to retired staff.