The State Boards under the aegis of my Department when the Government took office were the Civil Defence Board, the Army Pensions Board and the Board of Coiste an Asgard.
The Civil Defence Board was established in 2003. It was identified in the Public Service Reform Plan as a body to be abolished. I appointed an interim Board as a temporary measure in 2011 and in this context none of the positions were advertised. The membership of the interim Board appointed in 2011 is set out in the following table:
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Civil Defence Board Chairperson
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-
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Mr. Brian Spain Director, Department of Defence
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Nominated by Minister for Defence
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Civil Defence Board Members
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-
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Mr. Cathal Duffy Principal Officer, Department of Defence
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Nominated by the Minister for Defence
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Ms. Clare Tiernan Principal Officer, Department of Defence
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Nominated by the Minister for Defence
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Mr. Robert Mooney Principal Officer, Department of Defence
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Nominated by the Minister for Defence
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Mr. Bill Smith Director General, Civil Defence Board
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Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board
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Name
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Nominating Bodies
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Mr. Ned Gleeson County Manager, Limerick County Council
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Nominated by City & County Managers Association
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Mr. Keith Leonard Assistant Fire Advisor, Department Environment, Community and Local Government
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Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government
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Dr. Barbara Rafferty
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Nominated by Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
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Ms. Becci Cantrell
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Nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency
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Ms. Veronica Forde Assistant Civil Defence Officer
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Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers Association
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Lt. Col. Tony Kelly SSO, Defence Forces
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Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces
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Chief Superintendent Orla Mc Partlin An Garda Síochána
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Nominated by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána
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Mr. Fergal Conroy
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Elected volunteer member of Civil Defence
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Ms. Eileen Joyce
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Elected staff member of the Civil Defence Board
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Legislation to dissolve the Board was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2012. Its functions have now transferred back to the Department of Defence. 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 Public Expenditure and Reform. 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 became vacant due to retirement in 2011. I 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 publicly advertised. Details of Commandant Lagun’s appointment to the Army Pensions Board were published in the Iris Oifigiúl on 13 January 2012.
The non-military ordinary member of the Army Pensions Board, a civilian doctor, retired at the end of June 2013. The vacancy was advertised on my Department’s website and the Public Appointments Service website. A number of expressions were received and an appointment has been made from expressions received through the public advertisement process.
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. The formal wind up of the Company including voluntary strike off with the Companies Registration Office was completed in early 2013.
