I propose to take Questions Nos. 1025, 1026 and 1144 together.
Since March 2011 the following have been established by my Department:
- Three independent statutory Referendum Commissions, in accordance with the Referendum Act (1998);
- A Constituency Commission under the Electoral Act 1997 to review Dáil and European election constituencies;
- Local Government/Local Development Alignment Steering Group;
- Local Government Efficiency Review Implementation Group;
- Independent Group to review staffing levels in Cork City Council;
- Limerick Reorganisation Implementation Group;
- Tipperary Reorganisation Implementation Group;
- Waterford Local Government Committee;
- Historic Landfills Working Group;
- Waste Management Planning National Coordination Committee;
- Environmental Law Implementation Group;
- National Radon Strategy Group;
- Foreshore Advisory Group;
- National Co-ordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments;
- Joint Working Group on the transfer of Rent Supplement from the Department of Social Protection to this Department;
- Independent Panel to facilitate a resolution to the problem of pyrite;
- Local Authority Mortgage Arrears Guidance Group;
- Steering Group to oversee reform of the water sector;
- Inter-Departmental Group on Property Tax;
- Fix Your Street Review Group;
- The Local Government Audit Service & Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General Critical Review Group;
- The Private Residential Tenancies Board and the Property Services Regulatory Authority Critical Review Group;
- The Environmental Protection Agency and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland Critical Review Group;
- Steering group to oversee independent assessment being undertaken by consultants on the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme;
- Steering group to oversee independent review by consultants of Part V of the Planning and Development Acts;
- Interdepartmental Committee on the Implementation of Green Tenders – An Action Plan on Green Public Procurement;
- A review Group for the Environmental Protection Agency presented its report to me in May 2011;
- An Independent Group to review staffing levels in Dublin City Council presented its report to me in July 2011;
- The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2012, which was recently passed by the Oireachtas, will facilitate my Department’s agency rationalisation programme, under which 21 agencies will be reduced to 11.
The Local Government Management Services Board and the Local Government Computer Services Board have merged with the establishment of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). The LGMA will also take on the residual functions from An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, which will be dissolved. The Fire Services Council’s term of office expired on 30 June, 2009. The work of the Council was absorbed into the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management within the Department.
The Limerick Regeneration Agencies were dissolved on 31 July and their functions taken over by the Office for Regeneration which has been established in Limerick City. The Regeneration Office has been set up with administrative support from Limerick City Council and reports directly to the new City/County Manager.
The Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency (HSCA) was established in 2012. It rationalises the functions of the National Building Agency (NBA), the Affordable Homes Partnership (AHP) and the Centre for Housing Research (CHR). The AHP and the CHR have been closed down and the NBA ceased operating in June 2011.
Comhar (Sustainable Development Council) was discontinued at the end of 2011 and its sustainable development role has been integrated into the work of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC).
The Dormant Accounts Board will be dissolved by the end of 2012 when the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act, 2012 is commenced.
The operations of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) will be wound up by the end of 2013. Under its recently appointed new Board, this transitional period will allow the Authority to progress elements of on-going work and to make the necessary preparations for the migration to new arrangements, to be decided by the Government.
At the end of June 2012, the total staff number employed by State agencies under my Department’s aegis was 768.2 whole time equivalents (WTE), a reduction of 182.8 WTE (19%) as compared to 951 at end 2008. The payroll savings associated with these staff reductions are estimated to be of the order of €9.74m.
The LGMA is financed by way of a levy on local authorities which reduced from €13.9m in 2008 to €11.4m in 2011, a reduction of €2.5m (18%). The new library unit in the LGMA, to replace An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, will operate with five staff while An Chomhairle had an original staff complement of eighteen. The dissolution of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna could provide a benefit to the State through the vacation of their Dublin city-centre headquarter buildings.
The NBA headquarters was sold in March 2012 for €2.84 million.
The agency rationalisation/efficiency agenda will be kept under review, taking account of the Public Service Reform Plan, insofar as other agencies under my Department’s aegis are concerned.
Information on the projected expenditure for Exchequer funded agencies under the aegis of my Department is published in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2012. The summary table of Exchequer expenditure of non-commercial State agencies shows the provisional outturn for 2011 and the estimated expenditure for 2012.
