Written answers

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

Department of Defence

Departmental Bodies

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Defence the number of agencies, authorities, boards, committee s, working groups, tribunals, council services, task forces, agencies or other quangos set up by his Department since February 2011; the number abolished since then; the extra cost of quangos which were established; the savings from the abolition of quangos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37242/12]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Defence 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. [37258/12]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Defence the total number of board appointees he has made since he came to office; the names, salaries and expenses of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37354/12]

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Defence the number of State bodies that have been set up since 9 March 2011; the rationale behind these decisions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39994/12]

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Defence the number of appointments that have been made to positions available on the boards of semi-State companies and statutory agencies following public advertisement; if he will provide details of the names of persons who have been appointed under this initiative and the agencies on which they now sit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40032/12]

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1308, 1309, 1315, 1339 and 1342 together.

The State Boards under the aegis of the Department of Defence are the Civil Defence Board, the Army Pensions Board and the Board of Coiste an Asgard.

The budget allocation for these agencies for 2011 and 2012 is set out as follows:

Year
Civil Defence Board
Army Pensions Board
Coiste an Asgard
2011
€5.585m (Grant In Aid)
€103,000
Nil
2012
€5.585m (Grant In Aid)
€103,000
Nil

The Civil Defence Act 2002 provides that the Board shall consist of at least eight but not more than fourteen members who shall be appointed by the Minister for Defence. Legislation is currently being drafted to dissolve the Civil Defence Board and transfer the functions of the Board back into the Department of Defence. The transfer of the functions of the Civil Defence Board back into the Department of Defence is expected to realise savings in running costs of approximately €60,000 per annum. I appointed the current Board as an interim measure from 2011. In this context, none of the positions were advertised.

Membership of the interim Board appointed from 2011 is set out in the following table:

NameNominating Bodies
Civil Defence Board Chairperson
Mr. Brian Spain
Director, Department of Defence
Nominated by Minister for Defence
Civil Defence Board Members
Mr. Cathal Duffy
Principal Officer, Department of Defence
Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Ms. Clare Tiernan
Principal Officer, Department of Defence
Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Robert Mooney
Principal Officer, Department of Defence
Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Bill Smith
Director General, Civil Defence Board
Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board
Mr. Ned Gleeson
County Manager, Limerick City Council
Nominated by City & County Managers Association
Mr. Keith Leonard
Assistant Fire Advisor
Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government
Dr. Barbara RaffertyNominated by Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
Ms. Becci CantrellNominated by the Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Veronica Forde
Assistant Civil Defence Officer
Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers Association
Lt. Col. Tony Kelly
SSO, Defence Forces
Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces
Chief Superintendent Orla Mc Partlin
An Garda Síochána
Nominated by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána
Mr. Fergal ConroyElected volunteer member of Civil Defence
Ms. Eileen JoyceElected staff member of the Civil Defence Board

There is no remuneration attached to membership of the Civil Defence Board.

The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act, 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The chairman and the non-military ordinary member are appointed by the Minister for Defence with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

The position of Army Medical Corps ordinary member became vacant due to retirement in 2011, and I have since appointed Commandant Adam Lagun to the Board on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff. As the Army Pensions Act 1927 specifies that one of the ordinary members must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps, this position could not be advertised on the Department’s website. Details of Commandant Lagun’s appointment to the Army Pensions Board were published in the Iris Oifigiúil.

The chairperson and the civilian doctor are entitled to annual fees of €7,618 and €5,079 respectively.

Coiste an Asgard was the company set up to manage the National Sail Training Scheme. In September 2008, the company’s sail training vessel ‘Asgard II’ sank in the Bay of Biscay. In December 2009, the previous Government announced that the National Sail Training Scheme was to be discontinued and the funding for 2010 was cancelled. Up to and including 2009, the company had been receiving funding from the National Lottery of approximately €800,000 per annum.

The Company has been inactive since and there are no crew or staff left on the payroll. The winding-up process is well advanced and it is anticipated that the company will be in a position to close by the end of this year, following a final audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. There is no remuneration attached to membership of the Board of Coiste an Asgard.

No new agencies, authorities, committees, working groups, tribunals, council services, task forces, or quangos have been established since February 2011.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.