Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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105. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of quangos operating under the aegis of his Department; the total number of directors sitting on their boards; the aggregate fees incurred by the State in paying the remuneration of directors of these quangos; the number of quangos that have been created since the formation of the Government; the number that have been disbanded over the period; the projected cost to the taxpayer of the establishment and operation of these new quangos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49957/13]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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In response to the Deputy’s question, as part of the Public Service Reform Plan, within my own area of control, the Commission on Public Service Appointments was merged into the Office of the Ombudsman with effect from October 2012. Arrangements are also currently underway for the merger of the Valuation Office, the Property Registration Authority and Ordnance Survey Ireland; and the measure concerning the State Laboratory and the Forensic Science Laboratory is progressing. No new State Bodies or Agencies have been created in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform since the formation of the Government.

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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106. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of quangos operating under the aegis of his Department; the total number of directors sitting on their boards; the aggregate fees incurred by the State in paying the remuneration of directors of these quangos; the number of quangos that have been created since the formation of the Government; the number that have been disbanded over the period; the projected cost to the taxpayer of the establishment and operation of these new quangos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49956/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The following are the State Bodies/Boards under the aegis of my Department.

The number of directors on the boards of the agencies under the aegis of my Department for the years from 2011 to date is as follows:

The Forfás Board was reduced from 13 members to 6 members with effect from 5^th October 2012, to facilitate the integration of Forfás into my Department, and only one member (the Chairman) of the current board is entitled to receive a fee.

There are currently 447 Directors within the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards. They are appointed by the Boards themselves, in line with the provisions laid down in the Articles of Association for the Boards and I have no role in the appointments. All of the Directors work in a voluntary, and unpaid, capacity.

The Competition Authority does not have a Board of Directors; it has a Chairperson and three Members.

While the payment of fees to directors of Agencies under my remit is an operational matter for the Agencies concerned, for which I have no direct function, I understand that this information is contained in the Annual Reports of the Agencies that have been published for the years concerned.

I can advise the Deputy that no new State Agencies have been created by me since 9 March 2011.

However, I would draw the Deputy’s attention to the fact that, following enactment of the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012, Microfinance Ireland was established as a private limited company in August 2012, as a subsidiary of the Social Finance Foundation and has charitable status. Its Directors are working on a voluntary, pro bono basis.

Microfinance Ireland has been funded by the Government to provide loans to newly established and growing microenterprises across all industry sectors that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by banks.

Further, there is a substantial programme of reform underway within my Department in relation to Agencies and Offices. The Agencies 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. These reforms include:

- Merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority into one single entity.

- Dissolve the 35 County Enterprise Boards and transfer their functions to Enterprise Ireland. These functions will be delivered by a network of Local Enterprise Offices located in Local Authorities. This will facilitate the delivery of an enhanced service and range of supports to the micro and small business sectors.

- Dissolve Forfás and provide for the transfer of the agency’s assets, liabilities and staff to my Department and other bodies, as appropriate.

- Transfer relevant enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, EI and Bord Fáilte and merge Shannon Development with Shannon Airport Authority.

- Reform of the State's Workplace Relations Services to deliver a simplified two-tiered structure comprising a single body of first instance, the Workplace Relations Commission, and a single body of appeal, in effect an enhanced Labour Court.