Written Answers Nos. 110-115
110. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent of the Garda inquiries into the Tuam mother and baby home scandal; and the reason a full-scale Garda investigation was not undertaken. [12234/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will appreciate that I have no role in the initiation of criminal investigations, which is a matter for the Garda authorities. I understand that the Garda authorities have carried out general local enquiries, including with respect to the reported discovery of remains in the 1970s, and this information was fed back into the interdepartmental process which was undertaken to examine how these complex and tragic circumstances can best be addressed.
Arising from that process, the Deputy will be aware that in February my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, announced the establishment of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters. The Commission will cover the period 1922 to 1998 and provides an effective and transparent mechanism to examine these complex and sensitive matters while also respecting fair procedures and natural justice. I am assured that An Garda Síochána will cooperate fully with the Commission and any criminal matters which may arise will be properly investigated.
111. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide a list of the current Peace Commissioners resident in County Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12237/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy officials are collating the information which will be forwarded to the Deputy in the coming days.
112. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding that has been allocated by her Department to the PolskaÉire Festival; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12258/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the PolskaÉire Festival, a grant of up to €20,000 has been approved for the FAI for a project on integration through football and a grant of €2,350 has been awarded to Enigma Theatre for an intercultural theatre project.
113. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 305 and 314 of 27 January 2015, when the information requested will be forwarded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12288/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested was forwarded to the Deputy on 30 January 2015.
114. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the contracts a person's businesses and-or subsidiaries (details supplied) have with her Department; the value of these contracts, their length and the other companies which entered the tendering process that resulted in this person's companies winning the contract. [12358/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI regret that it is not possible to answer the Deputy's question in the absence of some detail as to which companies he is referring to.
115. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of chairpersons and non-executive directors of State or partially owned State companies, of State bodies, of semi-State bodies and of State agencies under the aegis of her Department on the State's payroll; the total cost to the State from the pay-out to these non-executive directors including fees, travel and other expenditure; her plans to reduce the number of these chairpersons or directors. [12610/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am interpreting the Deputy’s question as relating to chairpersons and non-executive directors of boards with a governance or oversight function of a state body. Moreover, I understand that a non-executive director is a person who sits on the Board of an organisation but does not work for that organisation. For example, the staff members that work for the Legal Aid Board and who sit on that Board would not be included as non-executive directors. Staff from my Department who sit on Boards, for example, the Property Registration Authority, Property Services Regulatory Authority or the Legal Aid Board would be included as non-executive directors.
The information sought by the Deputy is set out as follows:
Total number of chairpersons and non-executive directors engaged in the types of organisation referred to by the Deputy, under the aegis of my Department: 104. It should be noted that this total takes into account those Board members who have waived their entitlement to fees and those civil/public servants who are not entitled to board fees.
Total cost to the State, including fees, travel and other expenses, in 2014, in respect of the chairperson and non-executive directors referred to by the Deputy was €519,484.
I also wish to inform the Deputy that as part of the Government's Agency Rationalisation Programme, the Property Registration Authority is to be merged with the Valuation Office and Ordnance Survey Ireland. The merged organisation will be named Tailte Éireann. Earlier this year, I published the General Scheme of the Tailte Éireann Bill to provide for this merger. The General Scheme proposes that Tailte Éireann will have a Board consisting of a total of seven members.
This proposal would represent a reduction in the number of such members from the current eleven serving on the Property Registration Authority and ten members serving on the Board of Ordnance Survey Ireland (i.e. a total of 21) to seven. It might be noted that the Valuation Office does not have a Board.
