Results 6,641-6,660 of 8,081 for speaker:Peter Burke

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff Retirements (30 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: 621. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons at assistant principal level under the aegis of her Department who are due to retire in the next six months on the ground of age in counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4975/18]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme Appeals (30 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: 658. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when a decision will issue on a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4105/18]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Staff Retirements (30 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: 665. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of persons at assistant principal level under the aegis of her Department due to retire in the next six months due to age in counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4972/18]

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: I thank the witnesses for attending. Does Mr. O'Sullivan think the Valuation Office operates the valuation process efficiently?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: Would Mr. O'Sullivan be prepared to say "Yes"?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: I would say that part of the reason is that Mr. O'Sullivan does not know because the office has not got the systems and cost centres to see how much each valuation costs. As of September 2017, the Valuation Office has completed 43% of the valuation process and has completed valuations on 78,000 out of 180,000 properties. Does Mr. O'Sullivan think the staff in the organisation recognise the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: There is a significant amount of work to be done, considering that some counties will not examined until 2021. Let me draw attention No. 5 on page 14 of the Vote, which relates to employee numbers and pay. There are 117 full-time equivalents. I am perplexed that only six of the 117 full- time equivalents availed of overtime and that the maximum payment in 2016 was €3,578, which...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: What percentage of staff at graduate level come under that contract?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: What percentage of staff is at the valuer grade III entry level?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: So can the other 50% of staff do overtime?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: Is Ms Smyth telling me that if one had to value a property in one of the counties in question, no officer valuing that property can claim overtime and that the time is built into his or her initial contract?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: In terms of the complement of 50% of staff that can do overtime, am I correct in thinking that the number of valuers is 70?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: Did Ms Smyth say that 50% are not on the initial contract? That does not really add up.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: There is no appetite at administration level to get applications processed, as evidenced by the 50% of staff who are not doing overtime. Is there a reason for that? I note the Valuation Office returned a surplus of €1.5 million to the Exchequer. Why is that money being returned when there is a massive urgency to get parity and fairness throughout the system and ensure businesses are...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: On ICT, the issue of how far behind the cost centres are and there not even being a business case to present to the Department in that regard has been raised. Do the witnesses not think it unusual, bearing in mind how far behind the business case is, that of a full-time equivalent staff of 117, and even allowing that only 50% of staff qualify for overtime, one person used up 90% of the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: I understand that but I am referring to the 50% who are eligible for overtime, such as ICT staff, bearing in mind the need to get the cost centres together, or other staff dealing with administration such as paperwork within the office.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: There is a demand for overtime in those areas. I do not agree that a business case that is not there has to be forwarded to the Department. There is demand for overtime because Mr. O'Sullivan cannot be 100% sure the office is operating efficiently, as evidenced by his inability to answer "yes" to my question in that regard. There is, therefore, a demand to improve the systems and I find it...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: Mr. O'Sullivan and Ms Smyth will use up the overtime allowance.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: On efficiency, I note the slow pace of valuation. How does Mr. O'Sullivan justify that a business in Limerick or Westmeath may have had a 400% increase in rates but an equivalent property in a place such as Cork or Wicklow might have to wait seven years more before it is revalued? The initial revaluation in some counties was carried out during the deep recessionary period, and that was the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: National Property Revaluation Programme (25 Jan 2018)

Peter Burke: I am missing Mr. O'Sullivan's point. His office has returned some €1.5 million to the Department but it is not getting through the revaluation at a fast pace. Some businesses in certain categories want a clear reason why they have experienced a 400% increase yet businesses in other counties may have to wait almost a decade for an increase, which is of particular relevance against the...