Written answers
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Department of Social Protection
State Agencies
9:00 pm
Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm the total number of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos which currently exist within his Department; if she 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 she 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 she 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 her Department in respect of State agencies, independent statutory bodies, State boards or other quangos for the next five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34903/11]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, namely the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department.
The information sought regarding location, staff numbers and funding allocated to the above statutory bodies is as follows:
| NameLocation | Number of Staff | 2011 Budget Allocation |
| *Social Welfare Tribunal | Nil | €0.002m |
| Citizens Information BoardGround FloorGeorges Quay House43 Townsend StreetDublin 2 | 81 Full time equivalent(FTE) | €46.64m |
| The Pensions BoardVerschoyle House28/30 Lower Mount StreetDublin 2 | 37.8 (FTE) | The operations of the Pensions Board are largely financed by annual fees payable to it by occupational pension schemes (OPS) and by providers of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. The estimated fee receipts for OPS is €3.2m and PRSA fees is €1.7m in 2011. Projected expenditure for 2011 is €5.5m. The allocation from the Department of Social Protection for the National Pension Awareness Campaign is €0.4m in 2011. |
| Office of the Pensions Ombudsman36 Upper Mount StreetDublin 2 | 10 FTE | €1.009m |
*Social Welfare Tribunal
There are no full-time staff allocated to the Social Welfare Tribunal. One member of staff from the Department acts as Secretary to the Tribunal as part of their normal duties. The Tribunal consists of a Chairperson and four ordinary members, two nominated by ICTU and two nominated by IBEC.
The Chairperson and members do not receive an annual salary but are paid fees for attending hearings or meetings. The Tribunal holds hearings and meetings as required to deal with social welfare entitlement issues arising in the context of industrial disputes. All expenditure in relation to the Social Welfare Tribunal comes from hearings and meetings. There has been no expenditure to date in 2011.
No statutory body under the aegis of the Department has been merged or abolished since March 2011.
The possibility of merging the Pensions Board with the Financial Regulator and merging the Pensions Ombudsman with the Financial Services Ombudsman has been raised for consideration. While there are no immediate plans to proceed along those lines, the feasibility of doing so will be kept under review.
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