Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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271. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual saving to his Department if spending on education and training was reduced by 2.5%, 5% and 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26919/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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My Department’s learning and development budget for 2015 is €400,000, which includes €85,000 in respect of learning and development in Met Éireann. This is in respect of 721 FTE staff at 1 January 2015. The savings that would be associated with a 2.5%, 5% and 10% reduction to the learning and development allocations in 2015 are set out in the table below.

Learning and development programmes for staff contribute to the building of capability and capacity across the Department, increases the skills base where necessary, and enhance the potential for improved delivery of the Department's business priorities.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual saving to his Department if spending on professional fees, including but not limited to legal, IT-related, accountancy and other advisory and consultancy, was reduced by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26948/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The amount invoiced to my Department in 2014 to which professional services withholding tax was applied was €1,833,549.06, of which €392,774.12 related to payments in respect of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments.

The potential saving, had a 10% reduction applied, would have been € 183,354.91.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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273. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual saving to the Exchequer if the Minister's special advisers' salary was capped at the first point of the principal officer grade, that is €75,647; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26962/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Payment of salaries to staff of my Department is made in line with pay scales approved by the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform. If the salaries of my Special Advisors were capped at the first point on the Principal Officer scale, the saving in 2015 would be in the region of €11,080 (not including Employer’s PRSI).

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual saving to his Department and the bodies under its aegis if all the fees for all State agency, non-commercial State sponsored bodies and commercial semi-State board members were reduced by 25%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26977/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Information in relation to Board member fees, on which calculations of the impact of fee reductions can be based, is set out in the table below.

* Those PRTB / Rent Tribunal members of the Board, who are entitled to Board fees, are paid such fees on an attendance basis only. Details regarding the scale of fees and the amounts paid are published in the annual reports of the PRTB.

**In the case of Irish Water the appointments are executive in nature; details of their salaries are not available in my Department.

*** In the case of the Pyrite Resolution Board those directors who are entitled to fees are paid on an attendance basis.

**** The Boards of An Bord Pleanála and the Environmental Protection Agency are executive in nature, and Board members are full-time, salaried positions.

From 1 May 2009, fees were reduced by 10% in line with the Government decision to revise the fees for non-executive Chairpersons and members of Boards of State Bodies. From 1 January 2010, fees were further reduced in line with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009.

Reference to remuneration for chairs and members of Boards is to the level of fee to which they are entitled. Where public servants are appointed to Boards, no fees are payable.

Details in relation to the fees paid to individual Board members are also available within the respective annual reports of the individual agencies.