Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2012
306 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of State agencies in his Department which were abolished or merged since in 2011; the name and purpose of each one; the amount saved by the merger or abolition; the number planned to be merged or abolished in 2012; the name and purpose of each one; the amount expected to be saved from this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21594/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department currently has 13 State Agencies supporting us in our work. These are:
1. Enterprise Ireland
2. IDA Ireland
3. Science Foundation Ireland
4. Shannon Development
5. County and City Enterprise Boards (35)
6. National Standards Authority of Ireland
7. InterTradeIreland (the North / South Business Development Body)
8. Forfás
9. National Consumer Agency
10. The Competition Authority
11. Irish Auditing and Accounting Standards Authority
12. Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and
13. The Health and Safety Authority
The Public Sector Reform Plan published in November 2011 outlines a timeline for completion of a critical review of all of the State agencies and bodies across Government in the context either of merger, amalgamation or abolition. A number of agencies within my Department's remit are included in the Plan and I can provide the Deputy with an update of progress in relation to the agencies of my Department in this context.
In the context of Regulatory Agencies and Statutory bodies, my Department is working to effect the merger of the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority. The role of the NCA is to enforce consumer law, promote better understanding of consumer rights and advocate on consumer issues, while the Competition Authority is the State body responsible for enforcing Irish and European Competition Law in Ireland. Government approved in July 2011 the draft Heads of a Bill to allow for the merging of functions as well as well as other changes to consumer and competition law and this is with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for formal drafting. It is anticipated that in effecting the merger, initial set-up costs will be incurred and minimal savings are expected to result from the merging of functions.
As regards the Enterprise development agencies under my Department, a number of developments are in progress. Forfás is the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation and I have considered how the policy and research functions of this Agency can be integrated with my Department's resources to further enhance the formulation and development of national enterprise policy. A proposal in this regard has been developed and will be discussed with the Board of Forfás in the coming weeks. Following this engagement, an Implementation Group will be convened. Such an amalgamation will improve efficiencies/synergies between the Department and Forfás, but will not lead to immediate financial savings.
As agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) support micro-enterprises (employing up to 10 people) in the start-up and expansion phases and also promote economic activity and entrepreneurship in their areas. Government has recently approved the establishment of a new "one-stop-shop" micro-enterprise support structure through the dissolution of the existing CEBs and the formation of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). Meetings of the Implementation Steering Group will now be convened to facilitate detailed discussions with all relevant parties to ensure the final nature of any restructuring addresses the range of issues arising both from an organisational and policy perspective. In conjunction with this development, my Department is seeking formal advice from the Office of the Attorney General regarding appropriate legislation. Any potential for savings will be determined in line with the final nature of the restructuring.
The Deputy may also wish to note developments with regard to Shannon Development. Since December last, my Department has been in discussion with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and with Shannon Development, the regional development company dedicated to promoting and developing the Shannon Region of Ireland, with a view to formulating proposals for the future enterprise role of Shannon Development. A Memorandum for Government is being prepared which will address both this issue and that relating to the tourism functions of Shannon Development. Savings will arise due to the streamlining of Shannon Development's activities and the elimination of duplication of work by public bodies and will be determined in line with the final nature of any restructuring.
Separate to the Public Sector Reform Plan, there is underway in my Department a significant reform project relation to the Employment Rights and Industrial Relations bodies within my Department's remit. I have announced my intention to streamline the work of five bodies currently dealing with employment disputes in the workplace into a two tier structure. Four of the existing bodies — the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT), the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and the Labour Court (LC) — are currently within my Department's remit and one — the Equality Tribunal — is currently within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality. I expect this reform and streamlining project to deliver a measurable improvement in the quality of services provided to users of the State's employment rights/industrial relations dispute resolution services and to reduce the cost of accessing such services for both users and to the State. I have appointed a dedicated Project Team to drive this reform initiative and announced an ambitious timeline for delivery. A number of important reforms have already been delivered to date on this project including:
A new single contact portal called "Workplace Relations Customer Services" is fully operational since the beginning of this year and provides a single point of entry into the system for employment rights and industrial relations information. It has dealt with over 3,500 complaints in the first quarter of 2012 and has assisted in eliminating the backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings.
A Single Complaint Form that deals with over 100 first instance complaints was launched on the 4th of January this year, which replaced the 30 forms previously in use. Over 70% of all complainants in March 2012 used the new form.
The new workplace relations interim website www.workplacerelations.ie went live on the 4th of January this year. This website brings together, in one place, information on all aspects of employment rights and industrial relations.
Delivery of a pilot Early Resolution Service has commenced. This service will assist parties to a dispute to resolve the issue themselves with the assistance of a Case Resolution Officer. The pilot will be evaluated and the outcome of the evaluation will inform the design of the mainstream service to be provided by the Workplace Relations Commission in the future.
In parallel, work has commenced on the drafting of a Workplace Relations Bill to give effect to the new structure proposed.
The total annual cost of the State's Workplace Relations Services amounted to some €20m in 2010. It is expected that significant savings, in terms of both reductions in staff numbers and increased efficiency and productivity, will be generated by the end of 2013 by which time the majority of the Workplace Relations Reform Programme will have been implemented.
