Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 February 2012
544 Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Defence if he will list all appointments to State boards and agencies made by him since he came to power; the persons appointed; the boards and agencies to which they were appointed; the remuneration details of each appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7819/12]
View answerThe bodies under the aegis of my Department are the Civil Defence Board, the Army Pensions Board and the Board of Coiste an Asgard. The Civil Defence Act 2002 provides that the Board shall consist of at least eight but not more than fourteen members who shall be appointed by the Minister for Defence. Legislation is currently being drafted to dissolve the Civil Defence Board and transfer the functions of the Board back into the Department of Defence. I appointed the current Board as an interim measure from 11 July 2011.
Membership of the interim Board appointed from 11 July 2011 is set out in the table:
|
Nominating Bodies |
|
|
Civil Defence Board Chairperson |
|
|
Mr. Brian Spain, Director, Department of Defence |
Nominated by Minister for Defence |
|
Civil Defence Board Members |
|
|
Mr. Cathal Duffy, Principal Officer, Department of Defence |
Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
|
Ms Clare Tiernan, Principal Officer, Department of Defence |
Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
|
Mr. Robert Mooney, Principal Officer, Department of Defence |
Nominated by the Minister for Defence |
|
Mr. Bill Smith, Director General, Civil Defence Board |
Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board |
|
Mr. Ned Gleeson, County Manager, Limerick City Council |
Nominated by City and County Managers Association |
|
Mr. Keith Leonard, Assistant Fire Advisor |
Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government |
|
Dr. Barbara Rafferty |
Nominated by Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland |
|
Ms Becci Cantrell |
Nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency |
|
Ms. Veronica Forde, Assistant Civil Defence Officer |
Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers Association |
|
Lt. Col. Tony Kelly, SSO, Defence Forces |
Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces |
|
Detective Superintendent Orla Mc Partlin, An Garda Síochána |
Nominated by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána |
|
Mr. Fergal Conroy |
Elected volunteer member of Civil Defence |
|
Ms Eileen Joyce |
Elected staff member of the Civil Defence Board |
There is no remuneration attached to membership of the Civil Defence Board.
The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act, 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The chairman and the non military ordinary member are appointed by the Minister for Defence with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance. The chairperson and the civilian doctor are entitled to annual fees of €7,618 and €5,079 respectively. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.
The position of Army Medical Corps ordinary member recently became vacant due to retirement, and I have appointed Commandant Adam Lagun to the Board on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff. As the Army Pensions Act 1927 specifies that one of the ordinary members must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps, this position was not advertised.
In the context of settling the Estimates for the Department of Defence for 2010, the Government decided that the national sail training scheme operated by Coiste an Asgard would be discontinued as recommended in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure. As a result, no funding was provided in 2010 or 2011. No appointments have been made since that decision was taken and the Board will be dissolved shortly. There is no remuneration attached to membership of the Board of Coiste an Asgard.
