Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of agencies, authorities, boards, committees, workings groups, tribunals, council services, task forces, agencies, or other quangos set up by him since February 2011; the number abolished since then; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7530/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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In relation to the various bodies to which the Deputy refers, the following table sets out details of the new Groups and Committees that I have established since I assumed office in March 2011:

No bodies of the nature outlined by the Deputy have been formally abolished in this period. In terms of agencies under my Department's remit, there are currently 13 State Agencies supporting us in our work. These are, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Shannon Development, the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the InterTradeIreland (the North / South Trade and Business Development Body), Forfás, the National Consumer Agency, the Competition Authority, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Standards Authority, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. In relation to the abolition of such organisations and 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 under way, 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. The Government approved the drafting of the Consumer and Competition Bill in July 2011. It is expected that drafting of this Bill will be completed later this year.

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 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 of them – the Equality Tribunal – is currently within the remit of the nister 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 and 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 that have already been delivered, including a single portal of entry for all claims, a single website containing all relevant information and a single application form for workplace dispute complaints.

Regarding the Enterprise agencies, I am 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. As agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards support micro-enterprises (employing up to ten people) in the start-up and expansion phases and also promote economic activity and entrepreneurship in their areas. Work is well advanced in my Department on determining the extent of a restructuring of the network of County and City Enterprise Boards 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.