Written answers
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Department of Education and Skills
Appointments to State Boards
Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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760. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the names of the persons she has nominated to serve in positions carrying remuneration, other than out-of-pocket expenses, on commissions, industrial, assurance, semi-State or other similar concerns; the amounts received annually in respect of each appointment; the name of the concern to which the appointment was made during the years 2011 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46662/15]
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy should note that Board appointments, while made by me as Minister, are not in all cases made at my sole discretion. Individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations as specified in the relevant statute of the body concerned.
Under currently Guidelines for Appointments to State Boards, which can be viewed on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's website www.per.gov.ie, the process for filling vacancies on State Boards under the aegis of the Department is now normally managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS), whereby applications are made through the dedicated website www.stateboards.ie. And an assessment process is undertaken by PAS leading to the creation of a list of candidates deemed suitable for appointments to boards.
Fees are paid to chairpersons and non-executive directors in accordance with the rates specified by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and relevant legislation as appropriate.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the fees paid in respect of appointments made by me and Minister Quinn between 2011 and 2015 are contained in the attached tables. The details included in the supplementary tables provide details in regard to State Boards, ad hoc boards and independent inquiry/appeals officers and include the sums paid annually as well as the name of the concerns to which the appointments were made.
Table 1 – Details relating to the 6 non-commercial State agency boards under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills which are paid fees.
| Name of Organisation | Fee sums paid in 2011 | Fee sums paid in 2012 | Fee sums paid in 2013 | Fee sums paid in 2014 | Fee sums paid in 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse | See Note 1 below | ||||
| Grangegorman Development Agency | 8,836 | 8,713 | 8,978 | 8,978 | 6,734 |
| Higher Education Authority | 130,604 | 86,526 | 88,921 | 88,921 | 84,473 |
| Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB)2 | 803,463 | 819,364 | 973,504 | 594,720 | 151,991 |
| Residential Institutions Review Committee (RIRC)3 | 78,327 | 83,052 | 78,718 | 183,913 | 57,450 |
| State Examinations Commission | 41,200 | 10,300 | NIL | NIL | 42,750 |
Note 1: The Chairperson of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) is a member of the Judiciary and is not paid by CICA. The ordinary members of the Commission, who were all salaried are not currently on payroll.
Note 2: In addition to the Redress Board’s Board member fees above, the Chair of the Redress Board is paid salary equivalent to a serving president of the Circuit Court, taking into account pension abatement (and further reductions under FEMPI 2013).
Note 3: In addition to the Review Committee’s fees, the chair of the Review Committee, a retired Supreme Court Judge’s remuneration is based on the Supreme Court Judge pay-scale, taking into account pension abatement. A voluntary 50% reduction was applied to this rate in September 2011 and a further voluntary 50% due to be applied in January 2016.
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