Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the estimated cost of each quango in his Department; the amount expected to be saved from the mergers of quangos in his Department; the basis for this figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37255/12]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The State bodies/agencies currently funded from my Department's Vote Group are listed in the table below. It should be noted that Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga (comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency) are North-South Implementation Bodies and are subject to dual arrangements in relation to funding.

Details of the expenditure allocations made available to the bodies in question are published each year in the annual Revised Estimates Volume (REV) and the Appropriation Account. The REV also includes Agency Statements, which provide details in relation to expenditure on administration and pay in the previous year. These publications are available on the website of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform at www.per.gov.ie and on the website of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General at www.audgen.gov.ie. For ease of reference, Departmental allocations at subhead level are available at the following link http://per.gov.ie/estpubexp2012.

As the Deputy is aware, the Government announced a series of rationalisation measures in the Public Service Reform Plan on 17th November 2011. A number of amalgamations, mergers and critical reviews of bodies funded from my Department's Vote Group have been submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and are currently being assessed. I anticipate that they will be considered by Government in due course.

The priorities set out in the Programme for Government for the rationalisation of State agencies provide that rationalisation must be cost effective and lead to a more transparent, accountable and efficient public service. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, it is not possible at this stage to outline projected savings for each State body to be rationalised until final decisions have been made.

TABLE: Bodies Funded from the Vote Group of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht