Departmental Agencies

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Ceisteanna (272, 273, 274)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

272. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a list of all offices currently under the aegis of his Department. [19380/14]

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

273. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a list of all bodies and-or agencies currently under the aegis of his Department. [19381/14]

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

274. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a list of all offices, bodies and agencies under the aegis of his Department that are to be abolished or merged. [19382/14]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions 272 to 274, inclusive, together.

The following are the State Bodies/Boards under the remit of my Department.

1.	Enterprise Ireland*
2.	IDA Ireland
3.	Science Foundation Ireland
4.	Shannon Development
5.	National Standards Authority of Ireland
6.	Forfás
7.	National Consumer Agency
8.	The Competition Authority
9.	Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority
10.	Personal Injuries Assessment Board
11.	The Health and Safety Authority

*Enterprise Ireland also provides policy direction and funding through the nationwide network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). The network of 31 LEOs will deliver an improved system of local enterprise supports to start-ups and small businesses across the country.

In addition to the State Bodies/Boards listed, the Offices of my Department which carry out specific legislative functions are:

1.	The Labour Court
2.	The Employment Appeals Tribunal
3.	The Equality Tribunal
4.	The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement
5.	The Patents Office
6.	The Companies Registration Office
7.	The Registry of Friendly Societies
8.	The National Employment Rights Authority

There is a substantial programme of reform underway within my Department in relation to Agencies and Offices. The Agencies under the remit of my Department that are scheduled to be merged, reformed or abolished are set out under the Government’s Agency Rationalisation Programme. These reforms include:

- merging the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority into one single entity;

- dissolving the 35 County Enterprise Boards and transfer their functions to Enterprise Ireland to be delivered by Local Authorities in Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) - this will facilitate the delivery of an enhanced service and range of supports to the micro and small business sectors;

- dissolving Forfás and provide for the transfer of the agency’s assets, liabilities and staff to my Department and other bodies, as appropriate;

- transferring relevant enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, EI and Bord Fáilte and merge Shannon Development with Shannon Airport Authority; and

- reforming of the State's Workplace Relations Services to deliver a simplified two-tiered structure comprising a single body of first instance, the Workplace Relations Commission, and a single body of appeal, in effect an enhanced Labour Court.

Details of the up-to-date position on the above measures are set out in the following table:

Measure	Progress to end March 2014
Merge the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority into one single entity	The Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014 which was published on the 31st March 2014, when enacted, will give effect to the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency.
Dissolve the 35 County Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and transfer their functions to Enterprise Ireland (EI)	In 2012 the Government approved the dissolution of the County and City Enterprise Boards, the transfer of their functions, assets and liabilities to Enterprise Ireland (EI), and the establishment of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to provide a “first-stop-shop” for small business within Local Authorities.  Following the enactment of the CEB Dissolution Act, the CEB’s were dissolved and the LEO’s came into operation on the 15th April 2014.
Dissolve Forfás and provide for the transfer of the agency’s assets, liabilities and staff to my Department and other bodies, as appropriate	Primary legislation is necessary to give effect to the decision to integrate Forfás into my Department by the transfer of the functions and staff of Forfás to my Department and a number of state agencies.  The Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Bill 2013 was passed by Dáil Éireann on 9th April 2014 and will now be referred to the Seanad.  It is expected that the Bill will be enacted in June 2014.  The various sections of the Bill will commence on dates to be specified by the Minister after the enactment of the Bill. An Implementation Group, comprising senior management from my Department, Forfás, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is overseeing the integration project and meets on a regular basis. An Executive style Board has also been put in place in Forfás to oversee the transfer of the agency’s functions and responsibilities. A number of decisions that did not require legislation have already been implemented including: -  the reduction of the Board of Forfás from 13 members to 6 to oversee the orderly hand-over of Forfás’ functions; -  the transfer of the facilities, property management and reception/switchboard services from Forfás to IDA Ireland in July 2013.
Transfer relevant enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, EI and Bord Fáilte and merge Shannon Development with Shannon Airport	Shannon Development’s functions and the associated staff in relation to indigenous enterprises and foreign direct investment have been transferred to Enterprise Ireland and IDA respectively.  Shannon Development’s functions in relation to tourism including the Regional Tourism Offices have been transferred to Fáilte Ireland. These changes have been accompanied by the redeployment of staff to other public bodies and the implementation of a voluntary redundancy scheme.  The restructuring of Shannon Development has been completed.  The Government recently approved legislation "State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014" to establish the Shannon Group as part of a drive to establish an International Aviation Services Centre in the mid-west as part of a plan to deliver new routes and new jobs for the region.
Reform of the State’s Workplace Relations Services by merging the activities of the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission, the Equality Tribunal and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal into a new Body of First Instance, to be known as the Workplace Relations Commission. The appellate functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal will be incorporated into an expanded Labour Court.	The process of establishing a new two-tier workplace relations structure is continuing.  A considerable amount of work has been completed on the preparation of the Workplace Relations Bill, which will give statutory effect to the reform proposals. Significant progress has been achieved to date in relation to the technological, structural, administrative and staffing changes required to underpin the Workplace Relations Reform Programme.  Pending the enactment of legislation, my Department has put in place a Single Contact Portal, e-complaint facility, Staffing and Structures Plan, Workplace Relations website and early resolution service, together with enhanced technologies and processes in advance of the enabling legislation. Legislation to give effect to the Workplace Relations Bill is currently on the A list of the Government’s legislative programme. Drafting of the Bill is at an advanced stage. I propose to publish the Bill before the end of the Spring/Summer Dáil session 2014, with a view to having the proposed new Workplace Relations structures in place during 2014.
Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) Programme	In March 2012, responsibility for the DSE Programme transferred from Forfás to Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).  The programme is now named SFI Discover.
Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the Government	The Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser was included in the bodies due for critical review under the Public Sector Reform initiative. Following a Government decision in October 2012 to abolish the separate Office of the CSA, the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) took responsibility for the role of Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government in addition to his existing role and co-terminous with his tenure as Director General of SFI.

In addition, I would draw the Deputy’s attention to the fact that, following enactment of the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012, Microfinance Ireland was established as a private limited company in August 2012, as a subsidiary of the Social Finance Foundation and has charitable status. Microfinance Ireland has been funded by the Government to provide loans to newly established and growing microenterprises across all industry sectors that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by banks.