Written answers
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Departmental Agencies
Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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88. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will list all new State agencies or bodies established under the aegis of his Department since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41880/15]
Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A substantial programme of reform has been accomplished within my Department in relation to Agencies and public bodies including the merger, reform and abolition of bodies as set out under the Government’s Agency Rationalisation Programme. The following is a list of Agencies/Bodies established under the aegis of my Department since March 2011.
| New State Agencies | Date established |
|---|---|
| The Low Pay Commission | The Low Pay Commission was established on 26 February 2015, initially on an interim basis, and subsequently on a statutory basis under the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015, enacted on 15 July 2015.The Commission has 9 members, one of whom acts as an independent chairman. The primary duty of the Commission is to make recommendations to me each year regarding the national minimum hourly rate of pay, but it may also examine other related matters, at my request. |
| Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) | With effect from 1 October 2015, the activities of the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court were merged into a new Body of First Instance, known as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).In addition, the appellate functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal are now incorporated into an expanded Labour Court. From 1 October all complaints fall to be referred to the Workplace Relations Commission in the first instance, and, on appeal, to the Labour Court.This heralds the biggest reorganisation of the State’s industrial relations and employment machinery in almost 70 years and is the result of four years of reform driven by my Department. A single Contact Portal and information service, workplacerelations.ie, a single complaint form replacing 30 individual complaint forms, and a process supported by a modern IT infrastructure ensures a better experience for all in need of assistance to resolve their employment grievances. |
| The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission | The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission was established on 31 October 2014 as a result of the merger of the Competition Authority and National Consumer Agency. The Commission currently has 4 members (with one vacancy) and has a dual mandate to enforce competition and consumer protection law and will build on the work of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority to protect and strengthen competition, empower consumers to make informed decisions and protect them from harmful business practices. |
Other reforms of State Agencies or bodies under the aegis of my Department, since March 2011, have been:
The dissolution of Forfás, as a statutory body and the integration of its research capability into my Department, with effect from 1 August 2014, under the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act, 2014. As part of the dissolution of Forfás, the functions of the Irish National Accreditation Board were transferred from Forfás to the Health and Safety Authority.
The transfer of enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, EI and tourism functions to Bord Fáilte took place during the last quarter of 2013. The legislation to merge Shannon Development and Shannon Airport into a new commercial state company, State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014, was enacted on 27 July 2014. Responsibility for the newly formed Shannon Group plc rests with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
The dissolution, on 15April 2014, of the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards, as separate statutory bodies, under the County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Act, 2014. Under the legislation, the functions, assets and liabilities of the County Enterprise Boards were transferred to Enterprise Ireland (E.I.), and these functions are now being delivered on behalf of E.I. by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), within the Local Authority structure.
In addition, 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.
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.
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