Results 21-40 of 31,209 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: No, that has not been determined yet. The reason is the ESRI is doing a piece of work for the Government at the moment to give us some perspective on what housing output will be and what the need for homes will be across the coming years. Then the Government in its entirety will make a decision on revised housing targets for the next number of years. As part of that and coming out of it,...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: We have laid out clear reasons as to why the 5% spending rule needed to be changed or rather, not changed but why the rule is there and why we have been unable to meet it in recent years. We have also demonstrated our intent to try to move back to it. All of this will of course be up for revision when we put together the plan the Minister, Deputy McGrath, referred to a moment ago, when we...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff (8 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The information requested by the Deputy in respect of my Department and the bodies under its aegis is set out in the table below. Public Body Number of Employees currently suspended on full pay pending disciplinary investigations Length of time under suspension Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform 0 Not...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Programmes (8 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a temporary instrument that is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU - the EU’s plan to emerge stronger and more resilient from the coronavirus pandemic and build a greener, more digital and more resilient future. This instrument is outside of the multiannual financial framework. Through the Facility, the Commission raises funds by...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery (8 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I have contacted the Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery regarding your query on win rates of the National Lottery. The Regulator has informed me that, in relation to the odds of winning the National Lottery, the odds of winning the Lotto jackpot, which must be at least €2 million, are 1 in 10.7 million. Other National Lottery draw based games on sale offer players...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: In terms of speedy progress, I have identified two matters. The first one is our efforts to ensure that we have enough companies tendering for public service contracts so that we have an adequate level of competition within the tendering process to allow key projects to go ahead. The second relates to the continued challenges we have with cost-price inflation. We are not seeing the surges...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: There can be a number of factors behind a delay in a project. I highlighted to Deputy Durkan what in my experience are the two key reasons. I will make the general observation that there is always a demand for more projects to go ahead than there is funding available at any given time. All Ministers want to be in a position to spend more and to allow many more projects to go ahead that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for this important question. In budget 2024, a sum of €4.5 billion was allocated for non-core issues. These are costs that are driven by external developments or additional EU-funded projects that had to be reflected in our expenditure ceiling. The allocation covered pressures such as our humanitarian response to the arrivals fleeing war in Ukraine, legacy Covid...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The stability programme update did not make reference to non-core expenditure. In one recent stability programme update we did make reference to non-core expenditure and in another we did not. The Government has not made a decision yet on whether there will be a concept of non-core spending used in budget 2025. I acknowledge the benefits of non-core expenditure, which I emphasised earlier,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is aware of the value of the overall national development plan and the number of years over which the money will be spent, so I will not go into those facts and figures now. Rather, I will cut to the question he asked about national strategic outcome, NSO, 10. NSO 10 refers to access to quality childcare, education and health services and aims to ensure that the co-ordination...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy pointed out the important role special schools play with regard to the movement of pupils from primary to post-primary. I can absolutely assure him that in my engagement with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and formerly with her predecessor, Deputy Madigan, the importance of special schools is fully recognised by the Department of Education....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I have visited such a school myself and am absolutely aware of their importance. So many girls and boys who have additional needs need to be supported and educated in a very different school environment. I have seen the impact a couple of these schools have made and the difference they can make to the life journeys of students and their families. I again assure the Deputy that in all the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not aware of any of it being unspent. The urgency of this is appreciated and I can assure the Deputy that whenever I meet the Minister and her Department to discuss capital funding, they give the focus to special schools that he is seeking.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy knows, we have a national development plan of €165 billion over the coming years, which was published early in the lifetime of this Government. We have added to that with the allocation of a further €2.25 billion between 2024 and 2026, which follows the conclusion of more than 30 meetings between me and ministerial colleagues. In 2024, we now have €13...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Targets (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, I am, but it continues to be a challenge, one I and my predecessors have faced over many years because in some cases, Government spending can be ahead of profile. Despite the best efforts of all involved, that has required Supplementary Estimates. All that being said, however, we have to look at where overall Government expenditure has been in the last number of years. It has grown...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Targets (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The inflation would be on two different levels. It would relate to supply where, undoubtedly, from a capital point of view, we have seen cost pressure and pressure with tendering and supply chains, which is driven by all the economic developments of which Deputy Durkan will be very aware. For want of a better phrase, I would not at all use inflation with regard to demand. I do not think...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Justice is very well funded but of course always makes the case for more funding to respond back to the many pressures and challenges it has to contend with. The Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána take extremely seriously and I believe, manage in a very responsible way, the issues of how we keep our communities safe and in particular any threats that may...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Justice absolutely treats all such issues with the seriousness they deserve, supports An Garda Síochána in its work in keeping those in our country safe and dealing with those who may have committed crimes in the past, particularly as I said, those of a sexual nature. The Department of Justice understandably will continue to make the case for additional funding....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Targets (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Government expenditure policy is framed around the medium-term economic strategy which has two objectives, to ensure the long-term sustainability of core expenditure growth and to ensure that the investment in expenditure delivers improvement in public services and infrastructure. As outlined in the stability programme update published last week, the Government is providing investment of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I met the Minister for Justice about this matter yesterday. I would hope that by the summer we might have the outlines of how we would deal with this issue. The Minister for Justice has emphasised the importance of this issue to me and I am aware of the consequences it has for members of An Garda Síochána who have retired and the fact that these numbers are now growing.