Results 26,081-26,100 of 33,175 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I expect that all State boards covered by this Act will now be subject to its provisions. The first example of the new process will happen soon in the case of the Department of Health, where competent individuals will be put into important roles as chairpersons of State organisations in a transparent manner.

Other Questions: Programme for Government (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I have already answered Deputy Howlin's question but I am happy to repeat my answer, namely, that I will be reviewing the Estimates published for 2016 in light of where we stand now and will bring a recommendation to Government in that regard. As soon as I have Government support and agreement on the Estimates for this year, I will bring them before the Dáil. I am also conscious that...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Pay issues for public servants are currently determined within the constraints set by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Acts of 2009 to 2015 while the industrial relations environment is managed under the terms of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018, the Lansdowne Road agreement. The programme for Government contains a strong commitment to the...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not. The Deputy is wrong.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Will Deputy Calleary please repeat his first question?

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: On the timeline, I will begin discussions with the stakeholders of the Lansdowne Road agreement in regard to the public service pay commission in the coming weeks. When the commission will be set up will depend on the input I get from stakeholders and I will keep the Deputy apprised of that. I do not wish to prejudge what people may say on that. In regard to engagement with pensioners...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. I will inform the Deputy if the position changes but I am not aware of any such plans. As to whether all the funding has been drawn down, I understand it has been drawn down in the sense that it was handed over after the financial transaction took place. Was the Deputy referring to the release of the funding to achieve the objective for which it was intended?

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer to that will vary according to which element is involved. Funding has been available for the objectives of programmes that operated between 2012 and 2014. I will revert to the Deputy on how moneys connected with the sale of Bord Gáis Energy and Aer Lingus will be released. I understand the principles governing the establishment of the connectivity fund were agreed by the...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Commission also acknowledged that Ireland's public finances have improved immeasurably. We have entered the preventative phase of deficit management. This is extraordinary progress when measured against the position we were in a number of years ago. I had hoped the Deputy would have acknowledged this progress when commenting on the need for capital investment. I have...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: If we move to a position in which we seek to increase expenditure without identifying what projects are to be delivered, prices will rise and best practice in respect of cost-benefit analysis and the need to spend taxpayers' money wisely will not be adhered to.

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: What has been agreed to date with the representatives of fire-fighters in local authorities within the context of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-18 is an accord in principle on the delivery of a comprehensive range of productivity measures related to reforms in respect of the strategically important Keeping Communities Safe programme, the implementation of which is a matter for...

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not the case that a template has been created for dealing with fire-fighters. What has occurred is that the terms and processes of the Lansdowne Road agreement have been used to deal with this matter. As I stated, we will use the processes provided for in the agreement to engage with different sectoral trade unions to do what we can in response to the issues they are raising....

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I would not use such language.

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been very clear about how we speak to trade unions that are outside the Lansdowne Road agreement. The inflammatory language used by Deputy Cullinane-----

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: -----is the type of language that makes these matters more difficult to resolve. I hope the approach of the House will be to examine how we can resolve these issues. In light of the support the Deputy expressed for the Lansdowne Road agreement, perhaps he will also acknowledge its benefits. What I and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, have said is that we must...

Other Questions: Programme for Government (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The programme for a partnership Government sets out the ambition to build a strong economy and deliver a fair society. The programme identifies a number of policy challenges and for each of these challenges a clear, unambiguous, high-level ambition is also identified. Examples of these ambitions include meeting the target of building 25,000 new homes needed every year by 2020; creating...

Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Let us acknowledge that the overall plan involves a total quantum of over €40 billion. Approximately €27 billion is to be made available via Exchequer investment, while the rest is to be made available through various investment plans involving the commercial semi-State bodies. The Deputy is correct that the Government is examining how this figure can be increased, but it is...

Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I am all in favour of making sensible decisions. I take on board the Deputy’s point. He has said we should not get carried away with the investment, but, at the same time, we should acknowledge its scale. The investment programme, to be implemented, will over its lifetime bring investment in national infrastructure up to and in excess of €5 billion per year, which represents...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It has been the consistent policy approach that funds released from State asset disposals should be used, as far as possible and when the fiscal rules allow, to support the economy and job creation, while also using some of the proceeds to reduce debt. Since the State assets disposal programme was agreed to by the Government, a number of significant announcements have been made of...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed that the total amount involved is as I confirmed to the Deputy. It is €400 million from the sale of assets. With regard to a particular mechanism and how the fund will be made available for housing, I am not in a position to give the Deputy an answer now. However, I will identify one and respond to him by tomorrow.