Results 49,321-49,340 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: My understanding is the Minister is not offering an opinion on the €2.38 million and whether it should be cut or not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: In the spirit of improving of this process, it is practically impossible as a Deputy to say, for example, that the Valuation Office can take a hit but the Ombudsman's office cannot or the Minister must save €19 million to hit his target and his shared service allocation is off by €1.5 million but the Secret Service is good. That is an impossible exercise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: That is what I am trying to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: The exercise in which we are meant to be engaged therefore cannot be done because the work the Minister suggests the committee should have done has not been done. Is that reasonable?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: I am on the committee. The Minister can be critical of us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to comment briefly on the process before asking specific questions about the numbers before us and suggesting some ideas for the Minister. I welcome the process as a first step but we have a long way to go in terms of getting figures that are easy to understand and interrogate. This is not a criticism, however, because it was never going to be right on the first attempt. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: It was provided to members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: That is fine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: Allow me to ask a different question on the same subject. The comprehensive expenditure review for last year identified a net reduction in spending in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of €69 million between this year and 2013. The revised figure indicates that expenditure will increase by €88 million. What does this additional expenditure entail?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: Would it be possible to provide the committee with a reconciliation of that €88 million figure? It is quite a jump.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly what I am asking.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure and Reform Vote: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not require the information immediately. I ask that the officials revert to us with a reconciliation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: It seems the Minister of State's officials deserve to be congratulated on achieving an extraordinary reduction in expenditure, one hopes at minimum risk to the country. I would like to get the Minister of State's help with some numbers. In his opening statement, he said the OPW will receive €324 million in funding in 2013. According to a table in the document given to the committee,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: Okay, great. I thank the Minister of State. I accept that the Minister of State and his officials have brought about a substantial reduction in this regard since last year's general election.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: Sure, absolutely. It is my understanding, based on another table in the documentation, that the target for the reduction from 2012 to 2013 is 1.4%. Do I have that wrong?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Minister of State. That seems like a small percentage. As I do not have the context for the OPW, I ask the Minister of State to take my comments for what they are. If a struggling organisation is essentially insolvent, it should be fighting for its life by cutting costs everywhere. I am not saying there is not a good reason for the 1.4% figure. I just want to question it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: No, I am asking about what has generally been lost under the OPW's remit. It has lost a sizeable number of staff and its funding has been reduced massively. Can the Minister of State tell the committee what has been lost as a result of that? Obviously, the OPW has important responsibilities in areas like risk management. What risks are being posed to the country, in the opinion of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I think we should get the draft budget three months before budget day. I know it would be a big change for us. I thought I would mention it at this juncture.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: That is what the Deputy and his colleagues do. We do not do that. We just ask for excellence.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Office of Public Works: Discussion with Minister of State (17 Oct 2012)

Stephen Donnelly: I asked the Minister of State whether there are any serious risks. I take his point about flood management and welcome what he had to say in that regard. If a new comprehensive expenditure report required the OPW to reduce its numbers by a further 5%, would that present any risks? I guess the Minister of State has outlined one, potentially to heritage buildings, which has a knock-on effect...