Results 41-60 of 31,209 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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

Paschal Donohoe: I can simply say I take the Deputy's point. I am aware of the issue. Several Deputies have raised it with me, as has the Minister for Justice in recent months. We are looking at a way of trying to find a solution to this issue and I take on board the point made by the Deputy.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I emphasise that work on the heads of the Bill is significantly advanced. I want to be in a position to bring proposals to the Government very shortly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I aim to deal with both those matters. I aim to deal with the issue of liabilities and how they are registered and I also aim to bring forward proposals regarding strengthening the powers of SIPO to allow it to initiate its own investigations.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very much aware of the Bill brought forward by Deputies Mairéad Farrell and Buckley last year. It contained several different provisions relating to this matter. The legislation proposed had seven sections in total and many dealt with powers regarding the Standards in Public Office Commission. As I said, I will be bringing forward an approach that will deal with some of the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Vote allocations are decided as part of the Estimates process each year. Following publication of the summer economic statement, the Secretary General of my Department writes to all other Departments requesting proposals for the upcoming budget, including where they consider additional funding to be required. These requests are then assessed as part of preparations for the budget. ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy makes reference to the 2020 programme for Government. That did indeed lay out the commitment to reform and consolidate the ethics in public office legislation and, as she will be aware, my Department carried out a comprehensive review of the statutory framework as a first step in meeting this commitment. The review’s report was submitted to Government in December 2022 and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I believe that is achievable. In terms of the timelines for the heads of the Bill, I have some final work that I aim to do on it. At the latest, I aim to bring the heads of the Bill to the Government over a short number of months. That is what I am aiming to do. I accept the urgency on this and am committed to getting this piece of work done.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy cannot have it both ways. She cannot on the one hand say there is a need to maintain standards in public office and then make insinuations about my intentions. She cannot have it both ways. I appreciate the urgency of this legislation. It is something my Department is taking very seriously and I am committed to trying to get the heads of the Bill----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: ----completed, bringing the heads of the Bill to Government and commencing the legislative process in relation to it. As I said, the Deputy cannot have it both ways. She cannot say there is a need to stand up for standards in public office and then in the same breath insinuate that there are some kind of ulterior motives regarding where the Bill stands.

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

Paschal Donohoe: The majority of public servants recruited before 6 April 1995 pay class B or class D PRSI. This cohort of staff has no entitlement to social insurance benefits such as jobseeker’s benefit, the State pension contributory, SPC, or illness benefit. Their occupational pension and lump sum forms the entirety of their pension benefit from the public service. For all new entrants to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for the question. In the period since 2020, the Government has had to negotiate a number of exceptional challenges, from Brexit to the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine and the subsequent impact on energy prices. All of these challenges required a response from the Government which had significant cost implications for the Exchequer. As a matter of policy it was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: This is something I and the Minister for Finance are considering at the moment. With regard to the charge, if that had been made, about the presentation of the budget and the policy content of it, we are one of a small group of countries in the European Union that has a surplus. Budget policy has evidently not contributed to the growth of inflation in our economy. The rate of expenditure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I differ from the Deputy on the point he has made regarding the value of the non-core expenditure framework. The reason for this is if we look at where we have been with non-core spending the reason it was allocated differently is we wanted to avoid the risk of the spending becoming permanent and being embedded in how we spend our country's money at a time in which the emergency that...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Climate Change Policy (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The priorities and planned outputs of each of the Divisions of my Department are laid out in Departmental business plans, as agreed and published each year on gov.ie. The business planning process takes place annually and enables my officials to plan and deliver on the strategic objectives outlined in the overarching Departmental Statement of Strategy 2023- 2025. The mission, strategic goals...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in 2021. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement (SES) 2023, an additional €2.25 billion of capital funding was made available to be allocated in the 2024 to 2026 period. This funding will facilitate the progression of important projects and enable...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Relief Schemes (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Contracts (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for the management of gross voted expenditure and the annual estimates process, general sanctioning powers in relation to expenditure and policy matters relating to the appraisal, review and evaluation of expenditure. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral...