Vol. 549 No. 4
128 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Defence the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which it is proposed to establish; if it is intended that each such body will have a statutory basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7109/02]
Other than routine departmental committees which are established on an ongoing basis, it is proposed to establish, under the aegis of my Department, a new statutory authority to manage the Curragh of Kildare, with the exception of the Curragh Military Camp. It is envisaged that formal proposals will be submitted for Government approval this year. Pending implementation of the necessary legislation, an interim board is being established to assist with the management of the area.
It is proposed to establish a working group, comprising representatives – civil and military – of my Department and of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, and of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, to advise on the implementation of the Government decisions on the final report of the Commission on Public Service Pensions. The working group will be non-statutory.
It is proposed, under the terms of the Civil Defence Bill, 2002, to establish a Civil Defence Management Board. The board, which will be funded by a grant-in-aid from my Department, will be composed of all stakeholders interested in Civil Defence and will oversee the development of the organisation at a national level into the future.
129 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Defence the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which were established otherwise than pursuant to statute or statutory instruments; if there are proposals to have the body in question given a statu tory basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7124/02]
Apart from routine departmental committees which are established on an ongoing basis, the following bodies have been established under the auspices of my Department other than pursuant to statute or statutory instruments. Arising from the Partnership 2000 agreement for inclusion, employment and competitiveness a number of partnership committees have been established. There are no proposals to have the committees in question given a statutory basis. In the context of the White Paper on Defence, which was published in 2000, the Government decided to establish a standing interdepartmental defence and security environment assessment committee under the aegis of my Department and comprising nominees from my Department, civil and military, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Garda Síochána and the Department of the Taoiseach. There are no proposals to have the committee in question given a statutory basis.
Arising from the report of the air accident investigation unit of the Department of Public Enterprise into the accident at Tramore in 1999, a working group, comprising representatives from both the civilian and military branches of my Department and from the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, was established in September 2000 to monitor progress in regard to the implementation of the safety recommendations set out in that report. There are no proposals to have the group in question given a statutory basis.
The Government task force on emergency planning and an interdepartmental working group on emergency planning were set up following the events of 11 September 2001. There are no proposals to have either of these bodies given a statutory basis.WP leading adjustment
130 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Defence the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which were established pursuant to statutory instrument; the particulars of the statutory instrument in each case; if there are proposals to have the body in question given a basis in statute as opposed to statutory instrument; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7139/02]
Other than the Army Canteen Board, which was established under Defence Force regulations, there are no committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of my Department which were established pursuant to statutory instrument.
