Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to appear before the select committee as it considers the 2018 Estimates for Votes 1 to 6, inclusive. The committee has been supplied with a detailed briefing document on the various Votes. I will briefly outline the work of my Department and its proposed 2018 Estimate, as well as outlining the proposed 2018 Estimate allocations for the President’s Establishment, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. While I have certain responsibilities to the Oireachtas in respect of administrative matters in these offices, they operate independently of my Department. My colleague, the Minister of State and Government Chief Whip, Deputy McHugh, will outline the 2018 Estimate allocation for the Central Statistics Office and will take any questions relevant to that Vote following the committee’s consideration of the other Votes in my group. I am joined by Mr. Martin Fraser, Secretary General of the Department, Ms Mary Keenan, head of corporate affairs, and Ms Geraldine Butler, finance officer.

The 2018 Revised Estimate for the President’s Establishment is €4.32 million. This includes some €3 million for pay and administration, with the balance to fund the centenarians’ bounty. It is estimated that approximately 450 centenarians will receive the bounty in 2018.

The 2018 Revised Estimate for my Department is €35.9 million, which includes €24.9 million for administration costs. Following the recent review of the work of the strategic communications unit, I am reducing the 2018 funding allocation by €2.5 million to €2.5 million, €2.2 million of which has already been spent. I am requesting, therefore, that the committee approve a 2018 Estimate for my Department of €33.4 million, which is a 9% reduction on my Department’s 2017 Revised Estimate.

I will now briefly outline for the committee the progress made by my Department on key priorities in 2017 and indicate where we are focusing our efforts in 2018 and beyond. The primary role of my Department is to support me in my executive functions as Taoiseach, to support the Government and to oversee implementation of the programme for Government. It also supports the four Ministers of State assigned to the Department in full or in part. These are the Government Chief Whip; the Minister of State with responsibility for defence; the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs and the Minister of State with responsibility for data protection, who is also assigned to a number of other Departments, as I mentioned. In addition to supporting my work as Taoiseach and that of the Government, the Department’s strategic priorities are: a sustainable economy; a better and fairer society; strong relationships in Europe and in the world; Brexit; leading Government and ensuring it acts in a joined-up way in terms of policy implementation and communications.

The Department is also responsible for a range of other issues, such as State protocol, including commemorations, constitutional issues, relations with the office of the President, relations with the Oireachtas, Government press and communications, the National Economic and Social Council, the Creative Ireland programme, the Citizens' Assembly and the Dublin north-east inner city initiative. The Department funds a number of inquiries from its Vote, including the Moriarty tribunal, the Cregan commission on Siteserv and other matters and the Cooke commission on Project Eagle. An important part of my Department's work is providing a secretariat for meetings of the Government and of Cabinet committees. The Government has established Cabinet committees on: the economy; social policy and public services; the European Union, including Brexit; infrastructure, which covers housing; health; national security; and justice issues.

Ireland continues to experience sustainable and balanced economic growth. Employment continues to increase and now stands at 2.2 million working in the State.

Unemployment was down to 6% in February, the lowest since August 2008 and well below the euro area average. The Government's focus now is on achieving full employment and ensuring that the jobs created are quality jobs. By this I mean jobs that raise living standards and reward employees, not just in terms of salary but also with good working conditions, work-life balance and benefits, including adequate pension coverage on retirement.

That is why on 28 February, together with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, I launched a five-year roadmap for pension reform. It outlines a range of reforms across the pension system which will ensure that it is sustainable in the face of an ageing population. In particular, it includes the introduction of an auto-enrolment pension scheme for private sector workers, with first enrolments in 2022.

Earlier this month, the Action Plan for Jobs 2018 was launched. This year's plan is a more strategic and streamlined document reflecting the key risks and opportunities facing the economy. It outlines 55 actions to be delivered, with a target of creating approximately 50,000 additional jobs. My Department will oversee implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs and the delivery of the Government's other economic priorities through its support for Cabinet committee A and its related senior officials' groups.

The Government is keen to ensure that every sector of society - as well as every region - feels the benefits of our recovering and growing economy. We must continue to ensure policies and services not only protect the most vulnerable in society but provide opportunities equally for all citizens to learn, work and prosper irrespective of gender, race, social status or sexual orientation. My Department supports the work of shaping and reforming key public services, especially those requiring a cross-Government response through Cabinet committee B. On 20 March, Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was deposited with the United Nations. This is a significant landmark for Ireland and its commitment to people with disabilities who have waited more than ten years for successive Governments to deliver.

I have signalled my intention to advance a set of measures to improve gender equality. These measures will promote wage transparency in businesses and correct the imbalance at board level, where only 17% of board members of Ireland's top-listed companies are female. Last year, 52% of appointees to State boards were female. The State is now in a position to tell business to do better. The Government is looking at options to extend paid parental leave in the first year of a child's life. The Government is keen to make child care more affordable for parents. The initial reforms put in place in 2017, including the universal subsidy for children between six months and three years, have ensured parents of 67,000 children have benefited from enhanced payments. In 2018, the Government expects to make significant progress in terms of enacting the required legislation and supporting IT infrastructure to deliver the new affordable child care scheme.

I recently visited Dublin's north-east inner city - I have been there on several occasions - to witness, at first hand, the work under way to revitalise and support the local community. Significant work is now being done by the programme implementation board established last June to oversee the implementation of actions recommended in the Mulvey report. This involves a strong collaborative effort between the statutory, community and business sectors and is working effectively to date. My Department continues to support the work of the board, which recently published its progress report for 2017.

Increased investment in the health service must happen in tandem with reform and productivity gains. My Department oversees the health reform agenda through its support for Cabinet committee E and the related senior officials' group. Budget 2018 provided a record allocation of funding for health, including €55 million for the National Treatment Purchase Fund to reduce long waiting times for treatment. Significant steps have been taken following the publication of the Sláintecare report by the Committee on the Future of Healthcare, including a commitment to early engagement with general practitioner, GP, representatives on the reform of the GP contract to support primary care improvements. A negotiating mandate in this regard was given to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, at Cabinet this week. An independent group, under the chairmanship of Donal de Buitléir, to examine the impact of removing private practice from public hospitals is up and running and is expected to report later this year. A recruitment process for an executive director of the Sláintecare programme office has been undertaken. The final interviews for that are being held this week.

The publication of the health service capacity review in January and the commitment of €10.9 billion in the National Development Plan Project Ireland 2040 are significant in supporting necessary changes to models of care and to meet ever-increasing demand due to a rising population and the availability of new treatments. A significant new hospital building programme is under way with three new hospitals under construction, in addition to new wings and departments across the country.

Housing and homelessness remain a Government priority. We are committed to delivering an increased supply of affordable, quality and accessible housing. In 2017, under Rebuilding Ireland, the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, 26,000 households had their housing needs met, which is 100 households being housed every day by the State. Up to 4,000 individuals exited homelessness, 18 family hubs began operations and there was a 33% increase in construction commencement notices. To date the Rebuilding Ireland home loan and the enhanced long-term social housing lease scheme have been launched. The affordable purchase scheme has been announced while the affordable rental scheme is being piloted. Improvements have been made to the repair and leasing scheme. New planning regulations have been introduced and new guidelines on design standards for new apartments are being finalised. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is leading implementation of the plan, but this is a whole-of-Government effort which is overseen through meetings of Cabinet committee D and associated senior officials' groups.

My Department supports me in an extensive programme of international engagement. The focus of the programme is on advancing Ireland's strategic interests, developing bilateral and multilateral relations, enhancing Ireland's international reputation and promoting trade, tourism and investment. In 2020, Ireland is seeking election to the UN Security Council. Our candidature reflects Ireland's continuing engagement on issues of international importance and the centrality of the UN to our foreign policy.

The Government is committed to further strengthening Ireland's capacity to represent ourselves effectively on the international stage. In four cities in the United States over St. Patrick's week, I had an extensive set of meetings and engagements with political, business and civil society representatives. This included meetings with the US President and Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader and the Friends of Ireland on Capitol Hill. I also met with the governors of Oklahoma, Texas and New York, as well as the mayor of New York. My main focus was on advancing Ireland's economic and political interests in the US, including reaffirming our strong commitment to membership of the European Union; outlining our priorities in the context of Brexit and the importance we place, in that context, on two-way transatlantic trade and investment; promoting Ireland as a location for jobs, trade, tourism and investment; and continuing to make the case for US immigration reform.

Last week, I had a fruitful bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in advance of the March European Council. She reiterated her strong support for our unique concerns arising from Brexit. In the past few weeks, I have also had good bilateral meetings with the Dutch and the Luxembourg Prime Ministers, as well as with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. I have also invited the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to visit Ireland in the coming months.

On becoming Taoiseach, in order to ensure an effective, whole-of-Government response to the challenges ahead, I assigned lead responsibility for Brexit to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I have also re-organised the structure of Cabinet committees, with Cabinet committee C dealing with European Union issues including Brexit. My Department maintains strategic oversight of Ireland's response to Brexit, which is a crucial and cross-cutting issue. This work is led by the Second Secretary General, John Callinan, who acts as my Sherpa, and the international, EU and Northern Ireland division. The work of this division includes supporting me in my role as a member of the European Council and in my engagements with other Heads of State and Government and senior figures in the European institutions, as well as preparing for the work of Cabinet committee C and its supporting group of senior officials.

The work led by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade includes the ongoing detailed preparations for the negotiations at EU level; engagement with the administrations in Belfast and London; and the co-ordination of planning around the economic impacts of Brexit. Across the Government, relevant Departments, agencies and overseas missions are also being further strengthened to deal with Brexit. The objective of this ongoing work is to ensure Ireland achieves the best possible outcomes across all four priorities identified by the Government. These are trade and the economy, the peace process, the common travel area and the future of the European Union with Ireland as a committed member.

We are also working to help maintain peace and develop relationships on the island of Ireland, and between Britain and Ireland, especially in light of the challenges posed by Brexit. The European Council provides overall guidance and maintains close political oversight of the negotiations with the UK. The European Commission task force on Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom, led by Michel Barnier, with which we are in constant contact, represents the EU 27 in the ongoing negotiations.

Last December, the European Council agreed that sufficient progress had been achieved on the phase 1 withdrawal issues to allow us to move negotiations to the framework for the future EU-UK relationship. Acknowledging the progress in subsequent discussions between the EU and the UK on a draft withdrawal agreement, the March European Council adopted a set of guidelines for discussions on the framework. The guidelines confirm the conditional agreement on an orderly transition period dependent on progress on the outstanding issues in the draft withdrawal agreement, including the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and the backstop option on the Border. The European Council will review progress on all these issues in June.

Ireland will, of course, remain a member of the European Union. It is, therefore, crucial that we are active in the debate about its future and that we focus more on what we want to achieve rather than on things we want to block. With the support of my Department and the Tánaiste, I have been engaged in many bilateral contacts with the leaders of other EU member states and the EU institutions with a view to exchanging views on the priorities of the future of Europe. These bilateral contacts are vital to defend and promote Ireland's interests, which include a strong, stable, prosperous and more integrated European Union. I delivered a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in January that highlighted the need for a forward-looking agenda for the Union with ambition and direction.

I have tasked the Minister of State with responsibility for European Union affairs, Deputy Helen McEntee, with leading a domestic engagement on the future of Europe so that Irish citizens can have their say on what they want for the EU of the future. I launched this engagement process, known as the citizens' dialogue, last November. The process is due to conclude on Europe Day, which is 9 May.

My Department works closely with colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Northern Ireland matters. It is disappointing that we have not yet been able to secure agreement on the re-establishment of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement as we approach its 20th anniversary. The Tánaiste and I will continue to work closely with the British Government and all the parties in Northern Ireland to try to make progress in the coming months.

In August, my Department published National Risk Assessment 2017 – Overview of Strategic Risks. The document highlighted the intensification of risks arising from Brexit as well as a more general perception of increased geopolitical instability in the world; risks around climate change; human capital and skills needs; technological risks arising from potential cyber attacks or data fraud and theft; continued housing supply constraints; changing demographics; and potentially unrealistic expectations for public expenditure.

Work on this year's national risk assessment has begun and we intend to publish the 2018 report early in the third quarter. The most important actions that the Government can take to mitigate risks, including risks associated with Brexit, and seize future opportunities is to vigorously implement the substantial plans set out in Project Ireland 2040. That will be a significant focus of our attention during the year.

The national digital strategy will be developed during 2018 and will provide for an overarching long-term vision of the impacts of digital developments on Ireland. In a related area of work, my Department continues to play a supporting role in data protection policy by seeking to ensure that the Data Protection Commissioner continues to have the resources she needs and to ensure that Ireland continues to be a leader internationally on digital and data issues.

Finally, my Department supports the National Economic and Social Council in providing forward-looking strategic advice on economic, social and sustainable development issues. The current NESC work programme includes jobless households and the quality of supportive services; climate change and governance for the transition to the low-carbon economy; and land use, land value and urban development. The Secretary General and an assistant secretary, Liz Canavan, serve as chairperson and deputy chairperson of the NESC respectively. The council is meeting today, as Deputies are aware.

I have outlined some of the main outputs of my Department in 2017 and some of the priorities we are working on to make progress in 2018 and beyond. There are of course always new challenges and the Department must be flexible and adaptable. Looking ahead to later this year, for example, the successful organisation of the papal visit will be a significant objective for the Department and will require considerable work by the protocol section in particular.

I will comment briefly on the other Votes. Vote 3 relates to the Office of the Attorney General. The 2018 Revised Estimate for the Office of the Attorney General is €15.32 million. The majority of administrative expenditure relates to staff salaries, which cost €11.7 million this year. The largest expenditure item is a grant of a little under €2.3 million to the Law Reform Commission. Vote 4 relates to the Central Statistics Office. As I mentioned previously, the Government Chief Whip will present the 2018 Revised Estimate for the CSO to the committee. Vote 5 relates to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Revised Estimate for the office is €43.5 million. This represents a 6% increase, or €2.4 million, in the budget for the DPP. The increase is designed to cover salary costs and an increase in the provision for general law expenses. Vote 6 relates to Chief State Solicitor's Office. The 2018 Revised Estimate for the Chief State Solicitor's Office is a little under €33.7 million. Salaries, wages and allowances account for €17.37 million out of a total administrative budget of a little over €19.68 million. The remaining €2.3 million is attributable to the general running costs of the office. A provision of €15.1 million is allocated for the payment of legal fees incurred. This comprises €13.5 million for counsel and €1.4 million for general law expenses, which includes items such as expert witnesses and stenographers. The balance is to be used to pay external solicitors.

I thank committee members for their attention and I commend the Revised Estimates to the committee.