Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources 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. [57874/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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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 (DHDA) will be merged (initially on an administrative basis) with Dublin City Council (DCC), pending enactment of legislation. This merger is expected to yield short term savings of approximately €400k, which amounts to over 20% of the Exchequer current subvention. The most significant benefits to be gained from a merger of the DHDA with DCC are the synergies created from a closer relationship between the DHDA and the range of disciplines and skills available within the DCC.

In addition, the Government also announced further proposed mergers, which include provision for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which is under the aegis of my Department, to merge with the Valuation Office and Property Registration Authority. The merger potentially provides an opportunity for more efficient and cost-effective delivery of land and property administration services. Medium term savings are likely to be achievable in the areas of common back office functions such as HR, conventional (non-specialised) IT systems, Financial Management and Corporate Services. There may also be potential savings in the areas of accommodation and software licences. In the longer term, more efficiencies/synergies in delivery of the merged organisation’s services may lead to further savings in operational areas. Additional commercial revenues which would reduce the burden on the State may also be achievable in the medium to long term. The lead Department in relation to this rationalisation is the Department of Justice and Equality.

There is also provision for the back-office administrative functions of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) to be merged with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). I would advise the Deputy that neither BAI nor ComReg is Exchequer funded and as a result any savings achieved would not accrue to the Exchequer. Future tangible back office savings derive mainly from the merging of the support systems and pooling of outsourced functions and external consultancies in the short to medium term.

More generally, I would point out that total staff numbers at Non Commercial Agencies under the aegis of my Department was 777 at end 2010 and 686 at end 2012.