Written answers
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Departmental Agencies
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form the number of agencies, bodies, boards, quangos or other entities, which are financed from, answerable to or established by his Department that have been abolished, merged or re-organised since this Government took office; the savings that have been realised since the changes were made; the level of staff reduction that has been achieved; if he will provide details of further agency reductions that he intends to pursue in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57881/12]
Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department currently has the following State Agencies supporting us in our work:
1. | Enterprise Ireland |
|---|---|
2. | IDA Ireland |
3. | Science Foundation Ireland |
4. | Shannon Development |
5. | County and City Enterprise Boards (35) |
6. | National Standards Authority of Ireland |
7. | Forfás |
8. | National Consumer Agency |
9. | The Competition Authority |
10. | Irish Auditing and Accounting Standards Authority |
11. | Personal Injuries Assessment Board |
12. | The Health and Safety Authority |
In addition, the 7 offices under the aegis of my Department are:-
| 1. | Companies Registration Office |
|---|---|
| 2. | Employment Appeals Tribunal |
| 3. | Labour Court |
| 4. | Labour Relations Commission |
| 5. | National Employment Rights Authority |
| 6. | Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement |
| 7. | The Equality Tribunal (responsibility for the Equality Tribunal transferred to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with effect from 1 January, 2013) |
There is a substantial programme of reform underway within my Department. The bodies under the remit of my Department that are scheduled to be rationalised, merged or abolished are set out under the Government’s Agency Rationalisation Programme. The first three reforms listed below are on the A list of the legislation programme for this term as follows:
- Merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority into one single entity
- Dissolve the 35 CEB’s and restructure small business supports through collaboration with EI and the local authorities
- Consolidate the five workplace relations bodies into two.
Plans are at an advanced stage to:
- Transfer relevant enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, EI and Bord Fáilte and merge Shannon Development with Shannon Airport Authority
- Integrate Forfás into the Department
- Absorb the Secretariat to the National Competitiveness Council into the Department.
| Name of Body | Current Status and Future Plans | Staff reductions and Savings realised since changes made/March 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| County and City Enterprise Boards (35) | The Government has approved the restructuring of the enterprise support model for the micro and small business sectors. This restructuring will include the dissolution of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs), the transfer of their functions, assets and liabilities to Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the development of a new Small and Micro Business Division within Enterprise Ireland (EI) as a centre of excellence in the provision of supports to the small and micro enterprise sectors, and the establishment of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to provide a “first-stop-shop” for small businesses within Local Authorities. The Government approved the drafting of the legislation necessary to dissolve the CEBs and transfer their functions to Enterprise Ireland and it is expected that enabling legislation will be passed before the summer recess. | It is to be expected that over time there will be savings resulting from the removal of costs associated with the individual company status of each CEB, use of shared services, reduced rental costs associated with the relocation of some offices etc. However initial direct savings will be modest as it could take some years to realise these savings due to existing leasing arrangements etc. |
| Competition Authority andNational Consumer Agency | The legislation to give effect to the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency is currently on the A list of the Government's legislative programme. It is hoped that the legislation will be published in Q1 2013. | Initial set-up costs will be incurred. No savings in whole-time equivalent (WTE) numbers |
| Labour Court National Employment Rights Authority Labour Relations Commission Employment Appeals Tribunal Equality Tribunal | The process of establishing a new two-tier workplace relations structure has commenced. A significant amount of work has been completed on the preparation of the Workplace Relations Bill which will give statutory effect to the reform proposals. The General Scheme of the Workplace Relations Bill has been approved by Government for priority drafting. Engagement is on-going with the Attorney General’s Office and publication is expected at an early stage this year. This would enable the proposed new structures to be put in place by early 2013 with the result that two statutorily independent bodies will replace the current five. There will be a new single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission and a separate appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court. Significant progress has been made to date. In the last year two public consultation processes were completed, two policy documents were published, a new single contact portal has replaced the five separate entry points; there are now no backlogs for Rights Commissioner hearings; a Single Complaint Form has replaced the 30 forms previously in use; a new workplace relations interim website is in place, a pilot Early Resolution Service is now seeking to resolve disputes at an early stage without the need for adjudication; responsibility for the Equality Tribunal (but not including the policy functions of the Minister for Justice and Equality concerning equality) was transferred from the Minister for Justice and Equality to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with effect from 1 January, 2013 as part of the on-going reform of the State's employment rights and industrial relations structures. Pending the enactment of the legislation, the reforms will be progressed with further enhancements for users of the services on an administrative basis in the coming months. | The annual cost of the Workplace Relations Services amounted to some €20m in 2010. It is expected that significant savings, in terms of both reductions in staff numbers and increased efficiency and productivity, will be generated by the end of 2013 by which time the majority of the Workplace Relations Reform Programme will have been implemented. Work has commenced on identifying and capturing on-going pay and non-pay savings. |
| Forfás | An Implementation Group, comprising senior management from the Department, Forfás, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is overseeing the integration project and meets on a regular basis. An Executive style Board has also been put in place in Forfás to oversee the transfer of the agency’s functions and responsibilities. Good progress is being made in identifying and resolving issues that need to be addressed. Completion of the project will require the enactment of legislation to transfer Forfás’s functions. | The integration of Forfás into the Department will improve efficiencies/ synergies between the Department and Forfás. It is envisaged that savings will arise when the integration process is complete, especially in the Corporate Services Area. |
| Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN). EGFSN Members are appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills in consultation with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. | A Service Level Agreement will be drawn up between DES and DJEI to agree a schedule of work to meet DES requirements. | |
| National Competitiveness Council (NCC) | The NCC is to be maintained, with a refreshed mandate and some changes in membership. Secretariat services will continue to be provided by Forfás/Departmental staff following the integration of Forfás into DJEI. | There is no direct funding allocated to NCC. The Secretariat to the NCC is currently provided by Forfás, and will be absorbed into the Department as part of the integration of Forfás. |
| Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the Government | The Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser was included in the bodies due for critical review under the Public Sector Reform initiative. Following a Government decision on 11 October 2012 to abolish the separate Office of the CSA, the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland has taken on the role of Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government in addition to his existing role. | The 2012 budget allocation for the Office of the CSA was €95k (this reflects 8/12 of the annual allocation as the CSA contract ceased in August 2012). |
| Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ACSTI) | ACSTI is to be maintained, with a refreshed mandate and some changes in membership. Secretariat services will continue to be provided by Forfás/Departmental staff following the integration of Forfás into DJEI. | The Secretariat to the ACSTI is currently provided by Forfás, and will be absorbed into the Department as part of the integration of Forfás. |
| Shannon Development | On 27 November 2012, the Government confirmed its decision in principle of 8 May 2012 to separate Shannon Airport (SA) from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and bring it together with Shannon Development to form a new entity with a commercial mandate in public ownership. In accordance with the Government decision, Shannon Development’s enterprise functions are to transfer to Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland in 2013 while its tourism functions will transfer to Fáilte Ireland. The Steering Group, which had been established in 2012 to oversee full implementation of the Government’s decision in relation to the establishment of the new entity, has been reconstituted. | This is a restructuring and merger of Shannon Development and Shannon Airport. As Shannon Development is self-financing there will be no cost saving in 2013. There will be, however, an elimination of duplication of roles between Shannon Development, Enterprise Agencies and Fáilte Ireland in the region. |
| Companies Registration Office and Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies | These offices are ‘de facto’ merged, operating under a common budget and with the same individual designated as Registrar of Companies and Registrar of Friendly Societies. There are no plans to pursue a legislative amendment at this point in time. | No new savings since March 2011. Savings prior to this date were realised due to the common administrative base. |
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