Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [37265/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I presume that the Deputy is referring to Government agencies falling under the remit of my Department. The term "quango" is an acronym which stands for "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations". No non-governmental organisations fall under the remit of my Department. I wish to inform the Deputy that the information requested regarding the cost of agencies under my Department's aegis is available on pages 85-104 of the 2012 Revised Estimates for Public Services and can be accessed via the following link . I understand that the 2012 Revised Estimates for Public Services is also available in the Houses of the Oireachtas library.

As the Deputy is aware, the radical streamlining of State bodies is a key deliverable of the Public Service Reform Plan, which was published in November 2011. This streamlining includes the rationalisation of 48 bodies by the end of 2012, as well as the critical review of a further 46 bodies to take place by the end of June 2012. Details of the bodies involved are set out in Appendices IIa and IIb of the Plan which can be found at: . While these rationalisations will deliver savings to the taxpayer, the real benefits lie in the simplification of the administrative landscape, thereby ensuring greater accountability, less duplication of effort and more transparent lines of responsibility of public servants. It is not possible at this time to specify anticipated savings on an individual State body basis. However, the Public Service Reform Plan indicated that across the public service as a whole, savings of 20 million euro in enhanced service efficiencies and value-for-money are envisaged from the rationalisation programme.

With regard to State bodies under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality, the bodies which are to be rationalised, amalgamated or abolished during 2012 are:

Equality Tribunal (Rationalise the industrial relations / employee rights institutions – Labour Court, Labour Relations Commission, Employee Appeals Tribunal, National Employment Rights Authority, and Equality Tribunal into single agency). The purpose of the Equality Tribunal is to deal with all complaints of discrimination in employment and access to goods and services under the terms of equality legislation.

Equality Authority, Human Rights Commission (Merge to form new Human Rights and Equality Commission). The purpose of the Equality Authority is to ensure that all people in the country are treated equally and to ensure that discrimination on certain grounds does not occur. The Authority provides information to the public on the equality legislation and it can, at its discretion, provide legal assistance to people who wish to bring claims of unlawful discrimination. The Irish Human Rights Commission works to promote and protect human rights in Ireland. The General Scheme of a Bill to replace the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission with a new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was published on 5 June 2012. The Bill has been approved by Government for priority drafting in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and it is intended to have the legislation in place by the end of 2012.

With regard to State bodies under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality, the bodies which are subject to critical review in 2012 are:

Property Services Regulatory Authority (Merge with the Private Residential Tenancies Board). The purpose of the Property Services Regulatory Authority is to set and enforce standards in the provision of property services by auctioneers, letting agents and property management agents.

Reception and Integration Agency, Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner & Refugee Appeals Tribunal (Rationalise various Refugee structures). The purpose of the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) is to accommodate asylum seekers in RIA accommodation centres while their applications for asylum are processed and to coordinate the provision of services to asylum seekers in RIA accommodation. The purpose of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner is to investigate applications from persons seeking a declaration for refugee status and to issue appropriate recommendations to the Minister for Justice and Equality. The purpose of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal is to decide appeals of those asylum seekers whose applications for refugee status has not been recommended by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

Property Registration Authority (Merge the Valuation Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Property Registration Authority). The purpose of the Property Registration Authority is to act as the registering authority in relation to property registration in Ireland.

Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (Amalgamate Office of the Data Protection Commissioner with the Office of the Ombudsman). The purpose of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is to protect the individual's right to privacy by enabling people to know, and to exercise control over how their personal information is used, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2001.

Prison Visiting Committees (Reduce or merge Visiting Committees as there is now a Prisons Inspectorate). A prison visiting committee is appointed to each prison and the committee’s function is to visit, at frequent intervals, the prison to which it is appointed and hear any complaints which may be made to them by any prisoner.

Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests (Subsume Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests into proposed Office of the Charities Regulator). The purpose of the Commissioners is to provide a variety of services to charities of a judicial or quasi-judicial nature in accordance with legislation governing charities.

Forensic Science Laboratory (Merge Forensic Science Laboratory into State Laboratory). The purpose of the Forensic Science Laboratory is to assist in the investigation of crime and serve the administration of justice by providing scientific analysis and objective expert evidence to international standards. The services of the Laboratory are geared mainly to the requirements of the criminal justice system, chiefly the criminal courts of justice and the Garda Síochána as well some other State organisations involved in the investigation of criminal matters.

With respect to the bodies under the aegis of my Department which are subject to critical review during 2012, it will be a matter for the Government to decide how to proceed in each case, having regard to the outcomes of the critical review process.