Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2021
288. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if each of the bodies under his aegis are operating under the Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information Provided by Public Bodies; if all such public bodies and publicly-funded bodies have a trained access officer; if so, the year the access officer was first appointed to this role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21829/21]
View answerThere are 17 bodies under the aegis of my Department. Of these, the Central Bank, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Home Finance Building Ireland, the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal, the National Asset Management Agency, the National Treasury Management Agency, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and the Tax Appeals Commission operate under the Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information Provided by Public Bodies.
The Central Bank has an access officer who has been appointed since 2009 and the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman has a trained access officer since its establishment in 2018.
The Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal Registrar, who was appointed in 2019, is its access officer.
The National Treasury Management Agency provides administrative and support services to Home Building Finance Ireland and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, including services in support of the Disability Act 2005, and has a number of access officers; the current officers were assigned these duties in 2013 and 2021, having taken over from previously assigned staff.
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners first appointed access officers in 2007 and currently has 20, the longest serving was appointed in 2017 with the newest appointed in 2020.
The Tax Appeals Commission’s current access officer was appointed in 2021.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General does not currently have an access officer as it does not provide services to the general public.
While the National Asset Management Agency is compliant with the relevant provisions of the Disability Act 2005, it does not currently provide services to the public. NAMA is aware of the provisions of the Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information Provided by Public Bodies and will ensure compliance, as is required.
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has recently become a body to which the requirements of the Disability Act apply. The Fiscal Council is aware of its obligations under the Code of Practice, and is currently implementing processes in this regard to include appointing and training an access officer and publishing an Accessibility Statement.
The Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal is a board of medical practitioners and has no employees, and by extension no access officer. It operates through the National Rehabilitation Hospital.
The remaining bodies under the aegis of my Department do not come under the definition of a public body for the purposes of the Disability Act 2005 and as such the relevant Code does not apply. The Credit Union Advisory Committee is not a State agency, rather it is a committee set up to advise the Minister for Finance on credit union issues. Having concluded its restructuring work, the Credit Union Restructuring Board was operationally wound down on 31st July 2017 and is currently awaiting formal dissolution. The Credit Review Office is not a public body. The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which is in special liquidation, does not provide services or information to the public. The Investor Compensation Company DAC does not come under the definition of a public body for the purposes of the Disability Act 2005 and as such the relevant Code does not apply.
