The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Social Welfare Tribunal and the Family Support Agency.
The Pensions Board was established under the Pensions Act 1990 and has the general function of monitoring and supervising the operation of the Pensions Act and pensions developments generally. The current membership of the board is 17. On 16 February 2004 I appointed Mr. Michael McNulty as chairperson of the board following the resignation of the previous chairperson. I also appointed a Pensions Ombudsman, Mr. Paul Kenny, from 28 April 2003. This appointment was made on foot of an open competition undertaken by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission.
On the Combat Poverty Agency, the current membership of the board of the agency is 16. Since 6 June 2002 I have appointed 12 members to the board. Appointments to the Combat Poverty Agency Board since 6 June 2002 are as follows:
Member
|
Date of Appointment
|
Joan O’Flynn
|
5th December 2002
|
Anthony Gavin
|
31st January 2003
|
Frank Curran
|
31st January 2003
|
Maria Gorman
|
31st January 2003
|
Alice Robertson
|
31st January 2003
|
Tony Lane
|
31st January 2003
|
Marie O’Neill
|
20th February 2003
|
Olive Sweetman
|
7th May 2003
|
Maria Corrigan
|
7th May 2003
|
Tony O’Callaghan
|
20th August 2003
|
Margaret Sweeney
|
20th August 2003
|
Pearse O’Hanrahan
|
6th December 2003
|
As regards Comhairle, the current membership of the board of Comhairle is 20. Since 6 June 2002 I have appointed 15 members to the board. Appointments to Comhairle since 6 June 2002 are as follows:
Member
|
Date of Appointment
|
Tom Daly (Chair)
|
12th September 2002
|
Hubert Kearns
|
4th November 2003
|
Mairin Byrne
|
12th September 2002
|
John Hogan
|
19th June 2003
|
Martin Naughton
|
19th June 2003
|
Joe Meagher
|
19th June 2003
|
Michael Walsh
|
19th June 2003
|
Patricia Walshe
|
19th June 2003
|
David Ormond
|
19th June 2003
|
Maria Mangan
|
8th July 2003
|
Inez Bailey
|
12th September 2002
|
John Bosco Conama
|
12th September 2002
|
Nigel Brander
|
12th September 2002
|
Caroline Casey
|
12th September 2002
|
Paul Hogan
|
12th September 2002
|
The current membership of the Social Welfare Tribunal is five. Since 6 June 2002 I have appointed five members to the tribunal. Appointments to the Social Welfare Tribunal since 6 June 2002 are as follows:
Member
|
Date of Appointment
|
Colin Walker (Chair)
|
6th March 2003
|
Patrick Pierce
|
4th October 2003
|
Dympna Harpur
|
4th October 2003
|
Fergus Whelan
|
4th October 2003
|
Richard Keating
|
4th October 2003
|
The board of the Family Support Agency was formally established on 6 May 2003 and the members appointed from then were:
Mr. Michael O'Kennedy SC (Chair)
Ms Paddie Connellan
Ms Sinead Hanly
Mr. Gerard Mangan
Ms Clare Cashman
Mr. Dick Hickey
Mr. Brendan Murphy
Dr. Colm O'Connor
Ms Muriel Walls
Ms Dilly O'Brien
Ms Brid Rocks
In addition, Ms Margaret Farrell was appointed on 31 July 2003.