State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland
Encyclopedia
A State-Sponsored Body is the name given in Ireland
to a state-owned enterprise (a government-owned corporation), that is to say, a commercial business which is benficially owned, either completely or majority, by the Irish Government
. Each state-sponsored body has a sponsor Minister who acts as shareholder, either independently, or in conjunction with the Minister for Finance
, who may also be a shareholder. State-sponsored bodies are often popularly called semi-state companies, a misnomner, since they are all (mostly) fully owned by the state, in addition not all of them are actually companies. Less often they are referred to by the British term nationalised industry.
s, meaning that they are officially non-profit and do not formally have shareholders, but are a board or other authority appointed by the sponsor Minister. Corporations of this type include:
Statutory corporations are governed under the particular statute that they are established under, and are not subject to the provisions of the Companies Acts, though similar requirements are often stated in the statute. The statutory corporation form of governance has fallen out of favour recently, with it being seen as less transparent and less commercially free than the limited company (see below). It is planned that VHI will become a limited company in the near future. On 21 January 2006 The Irish Times
reported that the ESB and BGE will also move to plc status. Under the draft Broadcasting Bill 2006 RTÉ and Telifis na Gaeilge would have become companies limited by guarantee
, however the final Broadcasting Act 2009 retained their statutory corporation status.
or private limited companies. These are incorporated with the Companies Registration Office (Ireland)
as companies, but their sole (or sometimes majority) shareholder is their sponsor minister. Some of these are exempt from the requirement to carry limited, teoranta, plc, or cpt as part of their company name. State-sponsored bodies incorporated in this fashion are, unlike their statutory corporation peers, subject to the provisions of the Companies' Acts. They have issued share capital, a board of directors, and all the other features of the type of company they are incorporated as. Examples include:
Subsidiaries of Córas Iompair Éireann:
Subsidiaries of Dublin Airport Authority:
Subsidiaries of An Post
Subsidiaries of Raidió Teilifís Éireann:
Subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland
has embarked on a programme of privatisations
in recent years. Privatisations have always been controversial in Ireland. In 1991 the chief executive of Greencore
was forced to resign immediately prior to the company's flotation when it was discovered he was a shareholder in a company which had been purchased by Irish Sugar prior to its flotation. However it was after the drop in the Eircom
share price following the company's flotation that many became opposed to future privatisations. Nevertheless, as of 2006 the latest privatisation has been that of Aer Lingus Group plc, on 2 October 2006. The Great Southern Hotels were also privatised in 2006.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
to a state-owned enterprise (a government-owned corporation), that is to say, a commercial business which is benficially owned, either completely or majority, by the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
. Each state-sponsored body has a sponsor Minister who acts as shareholder, either independently, or in conjunction with the Minister for Finance
Minister for Finance (Ireland)
The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...
, who may also be a shareholder. State-sponsored bodies are often popularly called semi-state companies, a misnomner, since they are all (mostly) fully owned by the state, in addition not all of them are actually companies. Less often they are referred to by the British term nationalised industry.
Statutory Corporations
State-sponsored bodies may be organised as statutory corporationStatutory Corporation
A statutory corporation or public body is a corporation created by statute. While artificial legal personality is almost always the result of statutory intervention, a statutory corporation does not include corporations owned by shareholders whose legal personality derives from being registered...
s, meaning that they are officially non-profit and do not formally have shareholders, but are a board or other authority appointed by the sponsor Minister. Corporations of this type include:
- Córas Iompair ÉireannCóras Iompair ÉireannCóras Iompair Éireann , or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of the Irish state, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport in the Republic of Ireland and, jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, between the...
(Irish Transport Company) - Electricity Supply BoardElectricity Supply BoardThe Electricity Supply Board , is a semi-state electricity company in Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a commercial semi-state concern in a liberalised and competitive market...
- Raidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
(Radio and Television of Ireland) - Voluntary Health Insurance Board (Vhi HealthcareVhi HealthcareThe Voluntary Health Insurance Board — which trades under the brand name Vhi Healthcare, and is still commonly referred to in Ireland as "The VHI" - is the largest health insurance company in the Republic of Ireland. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the Minister for...
) - Bord Gáis Éireann (Irish Gas Board)
- Horse Racing IrelandHorse Racing IrelandHorse Racing Ireland is the governing body of horse racing on the island of Ireland. Like most other sports, horse racing is run on an All Ireland basis, so Horse Racing Ireland is responsible for racing in both the Republic of Ireland, which has 25 racecourses, and in Northern Ireland, which has...
- Telifís na GaeilgeTG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
Statutory corporations are governed under the particular statute that they are established under, and are not subject to the provisions of the Companies Acts, though similar requirements are often stated in the statute. The statutory corporation form of governance has fallen out of favour recently, with it being seen as less transparent and less commercially free than the limited company (see below). It is planned that VHI will become a limited company in the near future. On 21 January 2006 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
reported that the ESB and BGE will also move to plc status. Under the draft Broadcasting Bill 2006 RTÉ and Telifis na Gaeilge would have become companies limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
, however the final Broadcasting Act 2009 retained their statutory corporation status.
Companies with the Government as shareholder
Others may be organised as public limited companiesPublic limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
or private limited companies. These are incorporated with the Companies Registration Office (Ireland)
Companies Registration Office (Ireland)
The Companies Registration Office registers and incorporates companies in the Republic of Ireland as well as filing their annual returns.The CRO has a number of core functions:The incorporation of companies....
as companies, but their sole (or sometimes majority) shareholder is their sponsor minister. Some of these are exempt from the requirement to carry limited, teoranta, plc, or cpt as part of their company name. State-sponsored bodies incorporated in this fashion are, unlike their statutory corporation peers, subject to the provisions of the Companies' Acts. They have issued share capital, a board of directors, and all the other features of the type of company they are incorporated as. Examples include:
- An PostAn PostAn Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...
(The Post Office) - Bord na MónaBord na MónaBord na Móna , abbreviated BNM, is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland...
plc (The Peat Board) - Dublin Airport AuthorityDublin Airport AuthorityDublin Airport Authority plc is the state-owned airport authority in the Republic of Ireland. With a head office on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Fingal, County Dublin, the authority also owned the Great Southern Hotels which had nine sites throughout the island of Ireland and international...
plc - Coillte TeorantaCoillte TeorantaCoillte is a state-sponsored company in the Republic of Ireland, based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte is a commercial company operating in forestry, land-based businesses and added-value processing operations....
(The Irish Forestry Board Limited) - Dublin Port Company
- EirGridEirgridEirGrid plc is the state-owned electric power transmission operator in the Republic of Ireland. It is a public limited company registered under the Companies Acts; Its shares are held by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources who appoints the board and the Minister for Finance...
plc - Bord na gConBord na gConBord na gCon ,abbreviated BnaC, is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting greyhound racing in Ireland. The board has been active in developing the sport in Ireland since its founding in 1958, but has also drawn criticism for acting independently of the government.- History...
(Irish Greyhound Board)
Prominent subsidiaries of State-Sponsored Bodies
Companies which are subsidiaries of state-sponsored bodies, but which enjoy a separate identity and legal existence, include:Subsidiaries of Córas Iompair Éireann:
- Iarnród ÉireannIarnród ÉireannIarnród Éireann is the national railway system operator of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann . It operates all internal intercity, commuter and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the...
- Irish Rail - Bus ÉireannBus ÉireannBus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
- Irish Bus - Dublin BusDublin BusDublin Bus is a public transport operator in Ireland. It operates an extensive bus network of 172 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is...
- Bus Átha Cliath - Network Catering
Subsidiaries of Dublin Airport Authority:
- Aer Rianta InternationalAer Rianta InternationalAer Rianta International cpt is an airport and retail holding and management company, registered in Dublin and with its head office on the grounds of Shannon Airport in Shannon, County Clare. Aer Rianta is a subsidiary of Ireland's state-owned Dublin Airport Authority.The company was established...
cpt
Subsidiaries of An Post
- An Post National Lottery Company
- Prize Bond Company
Subsidiaries of Raidió Teilifís Éireann:
- RTÉ Network LimitedRTÉ Network LimitedRTÉ Transmission Network Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which runs Ireland's principal terrestrial television and radio broadcast signal transmission networks. They operate 10 main sites, and over 100 smaller relays and transposers, which carry either television,...
- RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd
Subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland
- Tote IrelandTote IrelandTote Ireland Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland, with responsibility for the operation of a Totalisator on the 25 racecourses in the Republic of Ireland. Tote Ireland is at the heart of Irish Horseracing, providing a wide variety of betting options for all race goers...
Limited
Privatisations
Like many countries with extensive state owned sectors, the Irish GovernmentIrish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
has embarked on a programme of privatisations
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
in recent years. Privatisations have always been controversial in Ireland. In 1991 the chief executive of Greencore
Greencore
Greencore Group plc is a food company in Ireland.It was established by the Irish Government in 1991 to take over Irish Sugar, the nationalised sugar production company. 55% of the group was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange that year, over the years additional placements have led to almost 100%...
was forced to resign immediately prior to the company's flotation when it was discovered he was a shareholder in a company which had been purchased by Irish Sugar prior to its flotation. However it was after the drop in the Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
share price following the company's flotation that many became opposed to future privatisations. Nevertheless, as of 2006 the latest privatisation has been that of Aer Lingus Group plc, on 2 October 2006. The Great Southern Hotels were also privatised in 2006.
List of privatised State-Sponsored Bodies
- Dairy Disposal Company - Dairies returned to private ownership
- Irish Sugar plc - listed on the Irish Stock ExchangeIrish Stock Exchange-History:The Irish Stock Exchange is Ireland's only stock exchange and has been in existence since 1793. It is an Irish private company limited by guarantee. It was first recognised by legislation in 1799 when the Irish Parliament passed the Stock Exchange Act...
as GreencoreGreencoreGreencore Group plc is a food company in Ireland.It was established by the Irish Government in 1991 to take over Irish Sugar, the nationalised sugar production company. 55% of the group was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange that year, over the years additional placements have led to almost 100%...
Group plc. - Irish Life Assurance plc - listed on the ISE, later merged with Irish Permanent to form Irish Life and PermanentIrish Life and PermanentIrish Life and Permanent, Plc or IL&P is a provider of personal financial services in Ireland. IL&P enjoys limited liability....
plc. - Irish Steel - sold via trade sale to Irish Ispat InternationalIspat InternationalIspat International N.V. was a steel producing company with operations in Mexico, Trinidad, Canada, Germany and the United States. The company is specialized in the integrated mini-mill process and has a wide range of flat & long steel products, including slabs & wire rods.Lakshmi Mittal was the...
. - British and Irish Steam Packet Company - sold via trade sale to Irish ContinentalIrish ContinentalIrish Ferries is an Irish ferry operator. The company operates on the Dublin Port –Holyhead route, and from Rosslare Europort to Roscoff, Cherbourg, and Pembroke....
Group plc. - Nitrigin Éireann Teoranta- merged with Irish part of Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
to become Irish Fertiliser Industries Limited (closed in 2002). - Bord Telecom Éireann plcTelecom ÉireannTelecom Éireann, or formally Bord Telecom Éireann - The Irish Telecommunications Board, was created by the Postal & Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, Ireland, under the leadership of the Minister for Posts & Telegraphs...
- listed on the ISE as EircomEircomEircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
plc (now Eircom Group plc). - ACCBankACCBankACCBank plc is a commercial bank in Ireland that focuses on agriculture and SME lending. The bank has its origins in the Agricultural Credit Corporation set up in 1927 in the Irish Free State to finance agriculture, the bank was successful and lead to the creation of the Industrial Credit Company...
plc - sold via trade sale to RabobankRabobankRabobank is a financial services provider with offices worldwide. Their main location is in the Netherlands. They are a global leader in Food and Agri financing and in sustainability-oriented banking...
Ireland. - ICC Bank plc - sold via trade sale to Bank of Scotland (Ireland)Bank of Scotland (Ireland)Bank of Scotland was a bank based in the Republic of Ireland, a subsidiary of the Bank of Scotland, which in turn is a part of the Lloyds Banking Group. It was more widely known under the trading name of its former retail division, Halifax. Since 10 February 2010 the bank has no longer accepted...
- CablelinkNTL IrelandNTL Communications Limited was a cable television and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service company in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2005 it was owned by Liberty Global Europe , having been divested by NTL...
- owned by Eircom and RTÉ, sold via trade sale to NTLNTL IrelandNTL Communications Limited was a cable television and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service company in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2005 it was owned by Liberty Global Europe , having been divested by NTL...
(and later sold on to Liberty Global EuropeLiberty Global EuropeLiberty Global, Inc. is an international media company and one of the largest broadband providers outside the United States of America. It was formed by the merger of the international arm of Liberty Media and UGC .-Europe:...
). - Aer LingusAer LingusAer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...
Group plc. (Irish International Airlines) - listed on the ISE. A minority government shareholding has been retained. - Great Southern Hotels - privatised via trade sale. Some hotels are now rebranded CG Hotels (soon to become part of Radisson SAS) and others retain the Great Southern name for now.
See also
- Bord Snip NuaBord Snip NuaThe Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes was an advisory committee, headed by the right-wing economist Colm McCarthy, established by the Irish government in 2008 to recommend cuts in public spending. It issued its findings, commonly known as the McCarthy report, on 16...
- Irish GovernmentIrish GovernmentThe Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
- Public service bodies of the Republic of Ireland