Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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266. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of quangos, State agencies or organisations under the remit of his Department that have been merged, reformed or abolished since 2011; the details of each of these measures in tabular form; the cost saving or service delivery improvement which has resulted; how many more he expects to be merged, reformed or abolished and the timeline for same; if he will provide a full list of all agencies and organisations under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1974/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The bodies under the aegis of my Department when the Government took office were the Civil Defence Board, the Board of Coiste an Asgard and the Army Pensions Board.

The Civil Defence Board was identified in the Public Service Reform Plan as a body to be abolished and legislation was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2012 for the dissolution of the Board. Its functions transferred back to the Department of Defence from 1 January 2013. The annual savings of almost €60,000 in running costs have been re-allocated to support the 4,500 active volunteers in Civil Defence nationwide.

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 formal wind up of the Company including voluntary strike off with the Companies Registration Office was completed in early 2013.

There are no plans to merge or abolish the Army Pensions Board.