Results 16,441-16,460 of 34,135 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I do. In particular, I am of the view that technology can play a very major role in further improving how public services are delivered. Each year, I meet all of our public and civil servants who are involved in the use of digital technology to improve how people can access public services. It is well appreciated that the Revenue Commissioners have done a really good job in that regard and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: What would be madness would be not making money available to people to give them somewhere to live while we are trying to build new homes. For this year alone, between one in four and one in five of all new homes constructed will be built by the State in order to alleviate the social needs to which the Deputy correctly refers. As those homes are put in place, the reliance on private rental...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: All my colleagues are correctly recognising the role of our Defence Forces and the contribution they make to the State. They are right to do so and I understand why. However, we also have to be conscious of the fact that other public servants are called on at times of emergency, to use the approach of Deputy Durkan, including those who work in the health services, the Garda and those who...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Since the UK referendum result in 2016, my Government colleagues and I have taken a number of steps to build up the resilience of our economy so that we have the capacity to deal with adverse economic shocks. These include building up our budgetary buffers by balancing our books. The steady increase in public spending implemented in recent years, with a particular focus on public capital...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We have already published our own estimates regarding what impact we believe a disorderly Brexit would have on our economy. They are included in the stability programme update which, as the Deputy said, we will discuss this afternoon. The figures we have published on the impact on the Government's financial position assume we would need to borrow to ensure our income support programmes and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Public procurement is a priority for the Government and has undergone significant reform aimed at ensuring sustainable delivery of much-needed public services, while also encouraging and supporting SME participation in these business opportunities. This approach is beneficial for the State because it nurtures competition, which ensures value for money is maintained, and provides SMEs with a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The main measures undertaken by the Minister of State when considering how SMEs can play a larger role in this area were influenced by the advisory group. I have outlined some of them, such as examining turnover requirements, dividing public contracts into lots, providing for consortia bidding and requiring public bodies to advertise contracts above €25,000. A number of other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Everything we are doing can be undertaken within the existing legal framework. We do not need further legislative change to the procurement process. In reply to a question at our previous session of priority questions, which feels like only yesterday, I acknowledged that Deputies Cowen and Jonathan O'Brien had a number of proposals about the issue and I suggested meeting after Easter to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Pay Commission was established to advise the Government on public service remuneration policy. In the current phase, 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 important areas of the public service identified in its...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We are doing that and I have outlined the dates by which the Public Service Pay Commission should be able to present and complete its work. We are also taking other steps to support the Defence Forces. The Deputy will be aware of all the work under way on wage restoration and on ensuring that by the end of the public service stability agreement, low and middle income workers will have seen...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At each point in the year, we try to ensure that we are able to provide the right level of funding for HAP. The reason we have HAP in the first place is to ensure that, while we continue our work on rebuilding homes and building new ones, the citizens who are waiting for that housing to become available have homes and access to accommodation. That is why we are using this funding. Were we...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Procurement Regulations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy was present for the Dáil debate on this matter last night. We explained why we had commissioned the PwC report and what work PwC could do to help us understand what went wrong with this project. The Deputy disagreed with us, but I pointed out to him that the PwC report went through the various elements that went wrong and what we could learn from it. The report made the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Procurement Regulations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy has asked a series of questions regarding who was involved in particular decisions. Many of the decisions that the Deputy mentioned were made by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, NPHDB. A board and an executive were in place. Recommendations were made to the board, which then made decisions. In the debate on this matter, I have tried to point out that, while...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Procurement Regulations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy put the final question to the Minister, Deputy Harris, last night. He will check to see whether it is possible for the Deputy to see the contract. I am afraid that I am not in a position to answer the question and I do not know whether there is any legal issue. Regarding responsibility, the board and representatives of the national paediatric hospital appeared before the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware and as the Taoiseach said yesterday in the Dáil, the €500 million indicative figure that previously existed in respect of this project was for a completely different level of coverage from the level we are now looking to deliver.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Taoiseach indicated yesterday, the memorandum referred to how we were going to get to villages but this is now a project seeking to provide coverage for up to 500,000 homes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: If the Deputy is asking me whether I am aware of, and involved in, the process regarding where the costs stand, the answer is "Yes." When the decision goes to Cabinet, it will be on the basis of costs and complexities which are known and understood and I will continue to play a role as member of Government in the decision-making process at that point in particular.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To ensure an effective and efficient response to urgent social housing needs throughout the entire country, a variety of mechanisms are provided for under Rebuilding Ireland, the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. These include build, acquisition, lease, HAP and RAS. There are a variety of objectives behind this mix of delivery mechanisms, including speed of delivery,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We need to look at what the figures are at the moment and at the balance between what we are spending in schemes like HAP and RAS and what we are spending to directly deliver homes. I want to put those figures on the record. The amount being spent to make use of existing houses is €526 million for 2018.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: No. I will come to that. It is €143 million for RAS, €277 million for HAP and €106 million for leasing, which is a total of €526 million. To build new units, we provided for spending of €1.16 billion in 2018, of which €742 million is to build new homes and €420 million is to acquire homes that are being built across the State. Those are the...