Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The bodies under the aegis of my Department when the Government took office in March 2011 were the Civil Defence Board, the Board of Coiste an Asgard and the Army Pensions Board. The Civil Defence Board was identified in the Public Service Reform Plan as a body to be abolished and legislation was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2012 for the dissolution of the Board. Its functions and staff transferred back to the Department of Defence from 1 January 2013. The annual savings of almost €60,000 in running costs have been re-allocated to support the 4,500 active volunteers in Civil Defence nationwide.

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. The Company was inactive from that date and there were no crew or staff left on the payroll. Up to and including 2009, the company had been receiving funding from the National Lottery of approximately €800,000 per annum. The formal wind up of the Company including voluntary strike off with the Companies Registration Office was completed in early 2013.

There are no plans to scrap, merge or reduce the Army Pensions Board.