Register of Public Sector Bodies 2019

Introduction

The Register of Public Sector Bodies provides the basis for the preparation of Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) reporting for Ireland. It list all organisations in the State which are considered to be "government" bodies for the purposes of GFS and EDP. It also lists organisations which, while under public control, are not part of the general government sector. 

Historical versions of the Register of Public Sector Bodies are available on the CSO website. 

Guidelines

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published Guidelines on the provision of methodological advice on statistical classifications for Government Finance Statistics and Excessive Deficit Procedure (published 2020). 

Legal basis

Under Council Regulation (EC) No. 479/2009 as amended by Council Regulations 679/2010, and Commission Regulation (EU) No 220/2014 the CSO is responsible for the official reporting of Ireland’s General Government Balance (GGB), Debt (GGDebt), other Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) statistics. This requires the CSO to define the scope of the general government and public sectors in Ireland.

The legally binding Accounting Regulations (EU) 549/2013 must be used by all EU countries for producing these statistics are those of the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). The Manual on Government Debt and Deficit (MGDD) 2019 edition  provides further guidance on the implementation of ESA 2010 when reporting GFS and EDP. 

Defining government control

ESA2010, paragraph 20.18 defines control as "the ability to determine the general policy or programme of that entity".  Paragraphs 2.38 and 2.39 of ESA 2010 set out, respectively, indicators of control for corporations and non-profit institutions (see Table 1 below).  They also note in each case that while a single indicator may be sufficient to establish control it may be necessary to assess a combination of indicators to determine control of the entity.  If an entity is determined to be under public control it must then be established whether it should be classified in general government or in the commercial public sector.

The concept of “control” in national accounts terms does not mean that an organisation has no independence of action or decision-making function, or that it is what is traditionally thought of as a government body in national terms.  Rather it means that any type of organisation, which may be established by government or by civil society, who is assessed under the criteria listed in Table 1 to have a relationship with government that can be considered “control” as defined under ESA 2010.

Table 1 Indicators of government control

Defining an institutional unit

ESA 2010 defines an institutional unit using four criteria:

• ability to own goods or assets in its own right and to exchange the ownership of goods or assets in transactions with other institutional units;
• ability to take economic decisions and engage in economic activities for which it is itself held to be directly responsible and accountable at law;
• ability to incur liabilities on its own behalf, to take on other obligations for further commitments and to enter into contracts; and
• ability to draw up a complete set of accounts, covering all transactions carried out during the accounting period, as well as a balance sheet of assets and liabilities.

An entity which fails the criteria of an institutional unit is classified in the same sector as the body which controls it. Therefore, publicly controlled units which are not institutional units are classified in general government. For example, most extra-budgetary funds are not categorised as institutional units. 

Local government

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provided for the abolition of Town Councils and the introduction of municipal districts making structures rather than corporate entities (with effect from 1st June 2014). Following this and the merger of specific city/county councils the number of local authorities in Ireland was reduced to 31, comprising single county-wide executive and operational structures.

The CSO survey local authorities annually to gather information on entities owned by the local authorities. Each entity is reviewed in terms of their statistical classification. This publication lists those entities deemed to be controlled by government for statistical purposes. The ESA 2010 statistical criteria are applied in making the classification decisions. The non-commercial (non-market) entities are included under the local authority agency list. The commercial (market) entities are on the public corporations list.

Regional assemblies

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provided for the existing 8 regional authorities and 2 regional assemblies to be replaced by 3 new regional assemblies. The membership of a regional assembly consists of members of the local authorities within the region. The main function is to draw up regional spatial and economic strategies.

Approved Housing Bodies

Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 allows for the designation of certain non-profit entities as Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). This status allows a voluntary housing body to access funding for the provision of social housing under schemes established by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The current conditions to become an AHB under Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act state that an organisation seeking such status may take the form of:
• Limited companies formed by guarantee of their members and not having a shareholding, registered under the Companies Act 2014;
• Societies registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts, 1893 – 2014;
• Trusts incorporated under the Charities Acts.

Furthermore such a body must:
• have as its goal, the relief of housing needs, to assist with cases of poverty or hardship, including the welfare of Travellers, and the delivery and management of housing;
• have in its Memorandum and Articles of Association or registered rules, provisions preventing the distribution of any surplus, profit, bonus or dividend to its members;
• ensure that its assets are applied solely towards its objects.

Following a statistical classification review of the largest AHBs in 2017 (comprising around 80% of the total housing stock of the sector) the CSO reclassified 16 AHBs to the local government subsector.

Extra Budgetary Funds

Most Extra Budgetary Funds (EBFs) are not treated as institutional units as they generally have no autonomy of decision.  A government department, or in some cases the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), manages the EBFs. Budgetary data in respect of these funds are reported in either the Appropriation Accounts, the audited accounts of the fund in question or the NTMA Annual Report.  

Non-commercial semi-state bodies (non-market agencies)

Bodies which are neither government departments nor EBFs but which receive a majority of their funding from the Exchequer and are subject to government control are referred to as non-commercial semi-state bodies. Examples of such bodies which are classified in the central government subsector (S1311) include Enterprise Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority, Teagasc, voluntary hospitals, voluntary schools, Irish Rail and RTE. These bodies are deemed to be non-commercial (non-market) as they cover less than half of their operating costs through sales of goods or services. Commercial semi-state companies, though publicly controlled, are not classified in the general government sector because they are commercial (market) entities.

Defining commercial/non-commercial units

ESA 2010 (paragraph 20.29) states that the classification of “core government units engaged in the provision of goods and services on a non-market basis and/or in the redistribution of income and wealth, is straightforward.”  This refers to what are typically thought of as government units – in Ireland’s case these would include Departments of State and their associated offices and local authorities. 

However, other units may also be classified to the government sector if they are controlled by government and if they are classified as “non-market producers”. The general government sector thus encompasses both central and local government, non-commercial state-owned bodies and extra budgetary funds.  

Other bodies which are considered commercial, or “market”, institutional units controlled by government (e.g. ESB, AIB) are classified in the ‘commercial Public Sector’ – either the Non-Financial Corporation Sector (S.11) or the Financial Corporation Sector (S.12).

To determine that a publicly controlled producer is a commercial (market) unit it must charge “economically significant prices”, that is prices which substantially influence the amount of the good or service which the producer is willing to supply and the consumer is willing to purchase. If the publicly controlled producer is the only supplier to government of goods or services* it must do so on the basis of competition with private producers (e.g. through a tendering process) in order to be considered a market producer.  It must also have a profit-based incentive to adjust supply and must be able to operate in market conditions and to meet its financial obligations.  The ability to undertake a market activity is checked via a quantitative criterion which measures whether the entity is covering at least 50% of its production costs through sales (as defined in ESA 2010 paras 20.30-20.32) over a multi-year period. 

*Providers of "ancillary services" such as transport, financing, purchasing, computer services etc. who provide services exclusively to a parent unit are classified in the same sector as their parent unit.

Compilation and update of the Register of Public Sector Bodies

The Register in this publication is based on a number of sources including government publications, academic databases, and data collection undertaken by the CSO.  The CSO conducts annual joint surveys of the following:

• All central government departments - with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; and
• All local authorities - with the Department of the Housing, Planning and Local Government.

These surveys confirm or revise existing listings and obtain further information as needed on all bodies under the aegis of these government units to ensure their correct statistical classification. 

The composition of this Register is not static.  Government controlled bodies are established, closed and merged over time.  Also the commercial/non-commercial (market/non-market) status of bodies must be continually reviewed.  Consequently the Register of Public Sector Bodies is reviewed and up-dated twice a year in April and October.

NACE classification

NACE is a Statistical Classification of Economic Activities developed in the European Community. NACE is an acronym derived from the French title 'Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes'. In compliance with EU regulations the NACE Rev. 2 classification system is used in this publication.

The NACE Rev.2 sections are:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing Section A
• Industry (excluding Construction) Sections B,C,D,E
  of which: Manufacturing Section C
• Construction Section F
• Distribution, transport, hotels and
  restaurants Sections G,H,I
• Information and communication Section J
• Financial and insurance activities Section K
• Real estate activities Section L
• Professional, admin and 
  support services Sections M,N
• Public admin, education and health Sections O,P,Q
• Arts, entertainment and 
  other services Sections R,S,T

For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification of industrial activity, visit the CSO website here.

In addition, the Nace Coder provided by the European Commission is the most up-to-date reference. 

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