Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The State Boards under the aegis of the Department of Defence at the time of the General Election 2011 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. The then Minister for Defence appointed a 14 person interim Board as a temporary measure in 2011 and in this context none of the positions were advertised. Legislation to dissolve the Board was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2012. Its functions have now transferred back to the Department of Defence. The membership of the interim Board appointed in 2011 is set out in the table.

Name	Nominating Bodies
Civil Defence Board Chairperson	-
Mr. Brian Spain Director, Department of Defence	Nominated by Minister for Defence
Civil Defence Board Members	-
Mr. Cathal Duffy Principal Officer, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Ms. Clare Tiernan Principal Officer, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Robert Mooney Principal Officer, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Bill Smith Director General, Civil Defence Board	Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board
Mr. Ned Gleeson County Manager, Limerick County Council	Nominated by City & County Managers Association
Mr. Keith Leonard Assistant Fire Advisor, Department Environment, Community and Local Government	Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government
Dr. Barbara Rafferty	Nominated by Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
Ms. Becci Cantrell	Nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Veronica Forde Assistant Civil Defence Officer	Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers Association
Lt. Col. Tony Kelly SSO, Defence Forces	Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces
Chief Superintendent Orla Mc Partlin An Garda Síochána	Nominated by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána
Mr. Fergal Conroy	Elected volunteer member of Civil Defence
Ms. Eileen Joyce	Elected staff member of the Civil Defence Board

There were no appointments to the Board of Coiste an Asgard from 2009. In the context of settling the Estimates for the Department of Defence for 2010, the Government decided that the national sail training scheme operated by Coiste an Asgard would be discontinued as recommended in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure.

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

The only body currently under the aegis of the Department of Defence is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act, 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The chairman and the non military ordinary member are appointed by the Minister for Defence with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

There have been two appointments to the Army Pensions Board since the General Election of 2011. A serving military officer was appointed to the position of Army Medical Corps member of the Board in December 2011, and a civilian doctor was appointed as non military ordinary member in November 2013.

The position of Army Medical Corps ordinary member became vacant due to retirement in 2011. The then Minister for Defence appointed Commandant Adam Lagun to the Board on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff. As the Army Pensions Act, 1927 specifies that one of the ordinary members must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps, this position was not publicly advertised. Details of Commandant Lagun’s appointment to the Army Pensions Board were published in the Iris Oifigiúil on 13 January 2012.

The civilian doctor vacancy was advertised on the Department of Defence website and the Public Appointments Service website. A number of expressions of interest in the position were received and Dr. Loretta Nolan was appointed to the Board on foot of this public advertisement process. Details of Dr. Nolan’s appointment to the Army Pensions Board were published in the Iris Oifigiúil on 10 December 2013.