Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [34897/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The question of rationalisation and the reduction in the number of State bodies is being considered in the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure and the overall budgetary and estimates process for 2012, and decisions on such matters will be made by the Government over the coming weeks. The priorities set out in the Programme for Government for the rationalisation of State Agencies states that rationalisation must be cost effective and lead to a more transparent, accountable and efficient public service. The overriding imperative is the absolute requirement to achieve major savings in all areas of expenditure and to reduce staff numbers and administrative overheads. This underscores the need for radical streamlining of bodies, abolishing those bodies whose remit is no longer essential and amalgamation of other agencies or sharing of services between bodies, so that public services and functions can be delivered more cost-effectively.

Details in relation to bodies under the aegis on my Department are as follows:

National Treasury Management Agency

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) was established in 1990 with a commercial remit outside the civil service structure. It has a range of functions providing financial and risk management services to the Government. These include borrowing for the Exchequer and management of the National Debt, the State Claims Agency, the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA).

The NPRF, the NDFA and NAMA each have their own board. The NTMA acts as the executive in respect of the NPRF and the NDFA. In the case of NAMA it assigns staff to NAMA and also provides it with business and support services and systems. NAMA reimburses the NTMA for the cost of these staff and services from its operations.

From March 2010 to August 2011 certain banking system functions of the Minister for Finance were delegated to the NTMA. The delegation of banking system functions to the NTMA was revoked with effect from 5 August 2011 and the NTMA banking team has been seconded to the Department of Finance. The NTMA budget for 2011 (excluding NAMA for which it is reimbursed as set out above) is €44.6m. The NTMA is located at Treasury Building, Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2. There are currently 428 employees in the NTMA. It is not proposed to abolish or wind down any of these agencies in the context of budget 2012.

National Assets Management Agency

The National Asset Management Agency is based in Treasury Building, Dublin; NAMA is funded from its own resources and the agency does not receive any voted moneys – Exchequer loans of €250m and €49m issued in 2010 have been repaid with interest; NAMA's officers are employees of the NTMA and it is expected that there will be up to 200 such officers by the end of 2011.

In addition there are currently two independent bodies in existence relating to credit unions. These are the Credit Union Advisory Committee and the Commission on Credit Unions. The Credit Union Advisory Committee is a statutory committee, established under Section 180 of the Credit Union Act 1997, whose task is to advise the Minister for Finance on credit union matters. The Commission on Credit Unions was established by the Government on 31 May 2011 to review the future of the credit union movement and make recommendations in relations to the most effective regulatory structure for credit unions.

The following provides a breakdown of these bodies:

Bodies that come under my Department that do not get exchequer funding include the Financial Services Ombudsman Council which has a board consisting of 6 members , Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal which has a board consisting of 7 members the Central Bank of Ireland and the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal. The Fiscal Advisory Council has recently been established under the aegis of may Department but is independent of it.

None of these bodies have been abolished. The Deputy will be aware that major restructuring is under way in the banking sector, especially in those credit institutions where the State has a controlling interest In this context Anglo and Irish Nationwide have been amalgamated to form Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).