Departmental Bodies

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 June 2010

Wednesday, 9 June 2010

Questions (223, 224, 225)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

223 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the arrangements that are in place to implement policy in relation to determining and approving the remuneration of each chief executive officer and managing director under the auspices of his Department; the salary of each such chief executive officer and managing director; if such arrangements have been breached in the past three years and the person involved; if he has taken any action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24600/10]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Micheál Martin)

There are no state agencies operating under the auspices of my Department.

There are currently three bodies which operate under the aegis of my Department — The Development Education Advisory Committee, The Government Emigrant Services Advisory Committee (previously known as Díon), and The Fulbright Commission (The Board of the Ireland – United States Commission for Educational Exchange). All members serving on these bodies do so in a voluntary capacity and are not in receipt of a salary or fee.

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

224 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the details and outcome of the past three reviews by her Department’s governance support division of compliance by her Department’s State bodies with the code of practice, in particular to name the State bodies that have not achieved full compliance; the reason for same; the action taken by her; the results of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24395/10]

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

The Department of Finance's Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies mandates that the chairperson of each State body must furnish to the relevant Minister a comprehensive annual report confirming, inter alia, that the Code of Practice has been adopted and the extent to which it is being complied with, subject to Board approval.

For the years 2006 to 2008, inclusive, confirmation of the adoption of the Code of Practice and of full compliance with it has been received from the State bodies under the aegis of my Department, with the exception of The Arts Council, Chester Beatty Library (CBL), Crawford Art Gallery Cork, National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) and National Sports Campus Development Authority (NSCDA).

In the case of CBL, this body is a public charitable trust established pursuant to the will of the late Sir Alfred Chester Beatty and is under the ownership of its Board of Trustees. As a charitable institution, it is responsible directly to the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests and complies with the requirements of the Commissioners.

In the case of the Crawford Art Gallery Cork, this body fell under the aegis of my Department only from 2007 during its start-up phase, and its annual accounts for 2008 remain with the Comptroller & Auditor General for examination.

In the case of The Arts Council, NGI and NSCDA, I am assured that procedures have been put in place to ensure compliance with the Code of Practice. My Department is currently in the process of receiving formal written confirmation of these assurances.

With respect of Tourism Ireland, the Code of Practice does not apply to North-South bodies established pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement.

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

225 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the arrangements that are in place to implement policy in relation to determining and approving the remuneration of each chief executive officer and managing director under the auspices of her Department; the salary of each such chief executive officer and managing director; if such arrangements have been breached in the past three years and the person involved; if she has taken any action; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24606/10]

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

Government policyin relation to the levels of remuneration appropriate to the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)/Directors of the agencies under the aegis of my Department is determined on the basis of recommendations by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. The Review Body has regard to changes in economic circumstances and in pay levels in the private sector, taking account of the pay of comparable posts in other countries with similar economic and political systems, particularly those in the eurozone.

The remuneration of all agency CEOs/Directors is subject to the agreement of the relevant Minister and the Minister for Finance. I am not aware of any breaches of these arrangements in the past three years in the case of agencies under the remit of my Department. The salaries of these CEOs/Directors are as set out in tabular form below.

Agency	CEO/Equivalent	Salary
Arts Council	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
Chester Beatty Library	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
Crawford Art Gallery*	Director	Civil Service Assistant Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
Fáilte Ireland	CEO	€177,990
Irish Film Board	CEO	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
Irish Museum of Modern Art	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
Irish Sports Council	CEO	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
National Concert Hall	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
National Gallery of Ireland	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
National Library of Ireland	Director	Civil Service Principal Officer Grade 1 Scale
National Museum of Ireland	Director	Civil Service Principal OfficerGrade 1 Scale
National Sports Campus Development Authority	CEO	€140,632

In addition, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment are sponsor Departments for Tourism Ireland. The remuneration of the CEO of Tourism Ireland is determined by the Board of the Company, with the approval of the North-South Ministerial Council and the respective Finance Ministers and is currently set at €169,412.

The salary of the Director of the Crawford Art Gallery Cork is paid by the Vocational Education Committee but is recouped from my Department.

In 2008 my Department circulated a comprehensive Corporate Governance document to assist the bodies under my aegis in fulfilling their Corporate Governance requirements. Finally my Department circulated the revised Code of Practice to these bodies in 2009.