Written answers
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Departmental Bodies
Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide in a tabular form the total list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit; if he will provide a list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit that have been abolished since March 2011 or are scheduled to be abolished and the date on which they are due to be abolished; the date on which the body was created; the name of the body; the 2012 Budget for the body; the number of employees of the body in 2012; the names of any outside consultants hired by the organisation since March 2011 and what future plans he has for the body. [49308/12]
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I can inform the Deputy that there are eleven Non Commercial Bodies, including Regulators, under the aegis of my Department and details of these, including the establishment date, the numbers employed and the 2012 Exchequer provision for each, are set out in tabular form as follows:
| The date on which the body was created | Number of employees of the body as at end Q3 2012 | 2012 Exchequer Provision for the body €000s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non Commercial State Bodies | |||
| Inland Fisheries Ireland | 01/07/2010 | 325 | 28,462 |
| Digital Hub Development Agency | 21/07/2003 | 13 | 3,507 |
| Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission (Loughs Agency) | 02/12/1999 | 53 | 2,595 |
| National Oil Reserves Agency | Established in 1995 as a private limited company and on 01/08/2007 as a stand alone state body under the NORA Act 2007 | 5 | 0 |
| Irish National Petroleum Corporation | 1979 | 0 | 0 |
| Mining Board | Established under S33.1 of the Minerals Development Act 1940 enacted on 14th November, 1940 | 0 | 0 |
| Ordnance Survey Ireland | 04/03/2002 | 242 | 8,466 |
| Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland | 01/10/2002 | 59 | 8,265 |
| Regulators | |||
| Broadcasting Authority of Ireland | 01/10/2009 | 31 | 0 |
| Commission for Energy Regulation | 14/07/1999 | 67 | 0 |
| Commission for Communications Regulation | 01/12/2002 | 109 | 0 |
It should be noted that the National Oil Reserves Agency and the Regulators are funded from their own resources and not from my Department’s Vote. In addition, the Exchequer funded bodies above supplement to varying degrees their Exchequer funding with their own income.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I have not abolished any State Bodies since taking office on 9 March 2011. My Department has reviewed the rationalisation proposals for agencies under its aegis as set out in the Public Service Reform Plan. The outcome of this review, which was recently published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, is that the Digital Hub Development Agency will be merged (initially on an administrative basis) with Dublin City Council by the end of 2012, pending enactment of legislation. In addition, the Government also announced further proposed mergers which include provision for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland to merge with the Valuation Office and Property Registration Authority by the end of 2013. There is also provision for the back-office administrative functions of the Commission for Communications Regulation to be merged with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland by the end of 2013. With regard to the issue of outside consultants hired by the organisations since March 2011 this is an operational matter for the individual bodies in the first instance.
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