Results 14,581-14,600 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will comment on the roads aspect first and then on public transport projects. I agree with the Deputy that we need to have a pipeline of big public transport projects underway. We also need to ensure that as resources are available, and they are, we have projects that already have planning permission and are ready to go. I recollect the debate that I had with Deputy Ryan some years ago...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Projects (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the work and progress that have already taken place. As he is aware, in essence we have an agreement to allow what is in place to continue up to 2023. We have had extensive engagement with the Commission on these projects. I had engagement with my counterpart in the British Government, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Philip Hammond, during the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Projects (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The political analysis offered by the Deputy is fair. We all hope to avoid the worst of Brexit and we are all working to do that. The Deputy and his party have been very clear in their support in trying to ensure we can do that. However, we will move to a very challenging period in the next number of months and the value of these programmes will become even greater if the uncertainty...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Projects (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I could deal with the other questions in the group but we have missed a question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I did not make any comment yesterday that could be interpreted as saying these ceilings are a thing of the past, as Deputy Cowen knows. Nonetheless, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council expressed views on the implementation of expenditure ceilings. In the next few weeks, our expenditure report of 2019 will set out the revised baseline for current expenditure to 2021, taking account of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I was referring to a different matter yesterday. I said that with the economy in a surplus position, if the fiscal rules in the coming years were interpreted as they were drafted, it would allow a higher rate of expenditure growth than is appropriate for an economy growing at the current rate. This is the approach we used in last year's budget when a decision was made to try to get to a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Projects (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 26 together. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland and the UK are partners in two EU-funded cross-border co-operation Programmes, PEACE and INTERREG, which have a combined value of more €550 million over the period from 2014 to 2020. These programmes support social and economic cohesion and peace and reconciliation in the Border region of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is correct that the last time the matter was looked at was in 2016. It estimated the additional cost of demographics was an average of €435 million annually from 2017 to 2021. We do plan to examine it again. I intend that a paper on this will be published as part of our 2019 spending review. I am not sure whether there is currently a case for the study to be broadened...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy asked about the affect of this on budgetary resources in future. I do not believe the figures will have an affect on our figures for budget 2020. Our challenge is that over time, the gradual change in our population may have a very big affect on budgets in the medium term, specifically what will happen as the population gradually gets older and the impact that might have on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy referred to a question I dealt with in the House yesterday on the Department of Health. To give that figure more context, it must be acknowledged that up to the end of April, health expenditure was very much in line with what it had been budgeted for. However, there was a change in May which had an effect on the year-to-date figure. I am engaged in forming a view on what will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Project Ireland 2040 Funding (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: What I am saying is that, as a result of the decisions made on broadband, and in dealing with the national children's hospital, I will not change other projects. The other projects have associated needs, within communities and the country. I want to make sure they move ahead. Projects do not go ahead every year for reasons that have nothing to do with budgetary policy, but this can, in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Project Ireland 2040 Funding (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I have done it for this year in the context of what happened with the national children's hospital. As we moved through the year, we managed to respond regarding the additional funding needs of the hospital and maintain commitments we have made elsewhere. The national broadband plan will require funding beyond what was included within the capital ceilings. Given the magnitude of that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Pay Commission was established to advise the Government on public service remuneration policy. In the current phase, which is the second phase of the commission's work, it was tasked by its terms of reference to undertake an examination of whether, and to what extent, there are difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff in key areas of the public service identified in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It has only been a number of weeks since the report was received. I would hope the Deputy would understand that when I receive a report, particularly one that is independent of me, it is necessary that I take time to consider it and reflect on how we can best move forward with the report to a successful conclusion with the Defence Forces. I share pride in the work of our forces with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I appreciate the acknowledgment from the Deputy of the good faith I had in participating in this process. I also note the way in which his party has handled the issue of public pay in the years in which I have been dealing with this matter.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Other members of his party decided to move ahead-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and form a judgment in relation to the contents of this report-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----before it was published. Fianna Fáil put us in a position where we had to deal with a motion on the Defence Forces' pay and conditions-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission Reports (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----before the report was even published. The Deputy underestimates the difficulty of managing public pay in a sensitive way in our current economy. Both Fianna Fáil and Deputy Cowen have previously shown a responsible attitude to how public pay is managed, and I regret that, on this occasion, they have not been able to maintain that approach when it comes to the Defence Forces. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Project Ireland 2040 Funding (20 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, I am responsible for setting the overall five-year multi-annual capital expenditure ceilings, and for allocating these resources across Government Departments. My Department is also subsequently responsible for monitoring expenditure on a monthly basis at a departmental level against these agreed ceilings. Decisions on how and where these allocations are then...