Results 21,921-21,940 of 33,049 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I can assure Deputy Ó Cuív that there are few Ministers more capable of spending money well than the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: When he is dealing with this matter this year, I am very confident that he will be ensuring that money made available will be spent. Deputy Ó Cuív can be certain that if the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring approaches my Department looking for a decision regarding pre-funding - he has not done so as yet - it will be for money that he is confident of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not envisage a broader consultation on this. It is part of the agreement that I made with representatives of the union movement on the Public Service Stability Agreement. In fairness, given that I have made that commitment, I will adhere to the process. The process, as I understand it, does not include a role for public consultation. No doubt the union movement, in dealing with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: This is exactly the point I was making earlier on at different points in these questions. It is that if one makes one move in one area, it always has consequences in other areas. The Taoiseach dealt with this matter in Leaders' Questions during the week and both myself and the Minister, Deputy Harris, are engaged in this matter at present. I understand that the organisations that are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware the card is a means of assisting the delivery of public services to people who need them. The Department is currently engaged in a procurement process for a media campaign to promote the awareness and benefits of the scheme. The campaign is likely to be delivered by radio, digital and print channels and is expected to begin in the coming months. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My voice is not as fresh as I thought. Apologies to the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, for what I have just done.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On the questions Deputy Calleary put to me, the procurement process is not being delayed. It is under way. Because we have not got to the point at which the campaign has even begun - we are not at a point yet, indeed, in which the campaign can even be paused - my understanding is that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has engaged with the Data Protection...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In relation to the Deputy's first point, I myself have the card and I am glad to hear Deputy Ó Cuív appreciates and acknowledges the role that it can play. I will take on board the point the Deputy made about the writing on it and I will pass it on to my colleagues who are working on it. As the Deputy will be aware, the people who are making the greatest use of it at present...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It sounds as if the roles and process to which the Deputy refers relate to section 7 rather than section 8 procedures. As I explained, under section 7 procedures, the commission cannot overturn the decision of the licence holder and does not play a role in the decision. Has the Deputy raised the matter with the Minister for Health? Perhaps he has already done so. If the matter falls...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: This is not a matter for my Department. As I indicated, the CPSA is an independent body. From the Deputy's description, this appears to be a section 7 matter in respect of which the CPSA may not have a role. It is very much a matter for the Department of Health and HSE, which will respond to the Deputy's query. The Deputy's question did not refer to the specific issue he raises, which is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: If the Deputy had referred specifically to the recruitment of psychologists in the text of his question, rather than raising a general issue in respect of the role of the CPSA, I may have been able to provide a clear answer on the role of the HSE and Department of Health in this matter. Given the way in which the psychologists in question are appointed, it is highly likely that the CPSA does...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The issue of addressing the difference in incremental salary scales between those public servants who entered public service employment since 2011 and those who entered before that date was addressed with the relevant trade union interests under the provisions of the Haddington Road agreement. My Department and the Department of Education and Skills reached an agreement with the INTO and TUI...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is an annual cost. In terms of the timeline for completing the process, I expect it to conclude - one way or another - in advance of next year's budget. We will engage in the process in good faith. From my dealings with the INTO, which has raised the matter with me, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, I am aware of the difficulty the pay equalisation issue causes. It would be very...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Government Communications (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not have the answer for the Deputy in respect of the total value the State spends on advertising and communications throughout the State. That was not contained in the Deputy's original question. However, I will get the answer for him. I believe that when I provide the answer, the need for efficiency and streamlining in respect of how we do this work will become apparent. A wide...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Government Communications (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: A decision was brought to Government in respect of the matter, and it was one I supported. The recommendation came from the Department of the Taoiseach. I do not believe any other Government body or agency was involved. As part of that there was focus on how much money we are spending on advertising and on the procurement of communication and the opportunity to centralise and do that work...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Commission for Public Service Appointments is an independent statutory body. It is responsible for overseeing appointments to a wide range of positions in the civil and public service. In carrying out its oversight role the commission audits recruitment processes and examines complaints from individuals unhappy with the conduct of an appointment process....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Labour Court Recommendations (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 17 together. Following a meeting with SIPTU and IMPACT trade unions in late 2015, the community sector high level forum, which had ceased operation some years earlier, was reconvened by my predecessor, Deputy Brendan Howlin, in order to fully examine certain issues pertaining to the community employment sector, having regard to the consequences for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Labour Court Recommendations (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I have three points to make in response. The information I have, which of course I will check given the point the Deputy made, is that FÁS was not at the Labour Court and had not consented to the matter being taken to the Labour Court for determination. Given that Deputy Calleary has information to the contrary on that point I will take that into account but the information I have is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Labour Court Recommendations (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My understanding is that the scoping exercise will be completed by the end of the year but I am hopeful that the next forum meeting will be able to discuss where it is and if the conclusion of the scoping process is not available by then at least my officials will be able to give a good update of where the work stands. If the scoping exercise cannot be brought to a conclusion in time for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Government Communications (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Following due consideration and discussion, the Cabinet decided that a strategic communications unit, SCU, should be established in the Department of the Taoiseach, based on international best practice, and with the citizen at the centre of its work. I attended one meeting with the SCU, which took place on 19 October. The director of the unit briefed me, the Secretary General and senior...