Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Oct 2000

Vol. 523 No. 1

Written Answers. - Departmental Bodies.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

457 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which were established pursuant to statutory instrument; if he will give details of the statutory instrument in each case; if there are any proposals to have the body in question given a basis in statute as opposed to statutory instrument; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19666/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

There are no committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of my Department which were established pursuant to statutory instrument.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

458 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which were established otherwise than pursuant to statute or statutory instrument; if there are any proposals to have the body in question given a statutory basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19681/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

The following committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of my Department were established otherwise than pursuant to statute or statutory instrument.

The tax strategy group is composed of high level civil servants and ministerial advisers. The group is chaired by an official of the Department of Finance, and it discusses taxation strategy in advance of the budget and the Finance Bill. There are no plans to establish this group on a statutory basis.

The certification advisory committee – CAC – is an informal advisory group, set up in June 1987 to advise in relation to certification by the Minister of international financial services provided from the IFSC. The committee comprises representatives of the Department of Finance, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Central Bank of Ireland and IDA Ireland. There are no plans to establish the CAC on a statutory basis.

The secondary tax group is an informal committee, chaired by the Department of Finance which was set up in mid 1998. The purpose of the group is to consider, and advise on, the legislative changes required in order to integrate the IFSC regime into the domestic economy and to ensure that Dublin's attraction as a location for international financial services business can be sustained following the ending/phasing out of the preferential tax regime applicable to IFSC companies. There are no plans to establish this group on a statutory basis.

There are also a number of groups set up as required by the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness in which the Department of Finance participates. There are no plans to establish any of these groups on a statutory basis.

The interdepartmental PPP group was set up by Government to co-ordinate the approach of the public sector to public-private partnerships. The PPP public-private advisory group reflects the interests of the social partners in relation to PPP's. There are no legislative proposals planned at present in relation to the activities of these groups.

The public service benchmarking body was established under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. There are no plans to establish this body on a statutory basis.

The review body on higher remuneration in the public sector was established by Government decision. There are no plans to establish this body on a statutory basis.

The Civil Service arbitration board was established under the terms of the Civil Service Conciliation and arbitration scheme. There are no plans to establish this board on a statutory basis.

In regard to the interdepartmental committee on asbestos in public buildings, there are no plans to establish this body on a statutory basis.

A money laundering steering committee was established in 1994. The main work of the committee was to draw-up and oversee the implementation of guidelines for the main financial sectors affected by the money laundering provisions of Criminal Justice Act, 1994. There are no plans to put this committee on a statutory basis.

A number of standing committees or groups dealing with freedom of information issues are chaired or serviced by the Department of Finance. It is not proposed to give them a statutory basis.

The euro changeover board of Ireland was established in 1998. There are no proposals to establish this board on a statutory basis.

A steering committee for programme evaluation was established to oversee the expenditure review process and to provide for independent assessment of completed reviews. There are no proposals to establish this committee on a statutory basis.

An interim board was appointed to advise on, and oversee the transition of Ordnance Survey Ireland – OSI – to a more commercial organisation.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

459 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of his Department which it is proposed to establish; if it is intended that each such body will have a statutory basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19696/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

I propose to establish the following committees, boards, companies or other bodies under the auspices of my Department.

The national pensions reserve fund commission:

Provision is made in the National Pensions Reserve Fund Bill for the establishment of an independent commission, the national pensions reserve fund commission, which will be appointed by the Minister for Finance to control and manage the proposed fund.

Single regulatory authority – SRA – for the financial services sector:

The Government has decided to establish a single, unified, regulatory authority for the financial services sector. As the Deputy will be aware, following the MacDowell report, discussions have taken place between officials of my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the matter is now being considered by me and the Tánaiste. It is envisaged that regulation will be carried out by a statutory body. When the outstanding issues have been settled, the Tanaiste and I will bring proposals to Government for consideration and decision.

Proposed dormant accounts board of trustees:

As indicated in the Government's press release of 11 April 2000, it is intended that the proposed new legislation for dealing with dormant accounts in financial institutions will include provision for a board of trustees to disburse any surplus funds for societal or community benefit. Further details will be made available when the enabling legislation is published.

Standards in public office commission:

The Standards in Public Office Bill, 2000, introduced in the Dáil on 29 June 2000 provides, inter alia, for the establishment of a standards in public office commission with investigative powers in relation to complaints about or omissions of persons in public life.

Board for the new Ordnance Survey Ireland:

The proposed legislation that will set up Ordnance Survey Ireland as a separate state body will allow for the establishment of a board.