The bodies under the aegis of my Department are the Army Pensions Board, the Civil Defence Board and the Board of Coiste an Asgard. In July 2011, the Government approved a proposal to begin drafting legislation to transfer the functions of the Civil Defence Board back into the Department of Defence. The Heads of the Civil Defence (Repeal) Bill were subsequently agreed by Government and the Bill is currently being drafted.
If enacted, the Bill will repeal the Civil Defence Act, 2002, dissolve the Civil Defence Board and transfer its functions, property rights, liabilities and other responsibilities to the Department of Defence. Such changes will not have any impact on Civil Defence operations nationally and Civil Defence will continue to operate from Roscrea as a Branch of the Department. The transfer of the functions of the Civil Defence Board back into the Department of Defence is expected to realise savings in running costs of approximately €60,000 per annum.
Coiste an Asgard was the company set up to manage the National Sail Training Scheme. In September 2008, the company's sail training vessel ‘Asgard II' sank in the Bay of Biscay. In December 2009, the previous Government announced that the National Sail Training Scheme was to be discontinued and the funding for 2010 was cancelled. Up to and including 2009, the company had been receiving funding from the National Lottery of approximately €800,000 per annum.
The Company has been inactive since and there are no crew or staff left on the payroll. The winding-up process is well advanced and it is anticipated that the company will be in a position to close by the end of this year, following a final audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. There are no plans to merge or abolish the Army Pensions Board.
