Results 21,401-21,420 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I think it might be best if we allow an actual acting Secretary General, Mr. Moloney, to come in on that to spell out what the lines of responsibility are.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for his comment, with which I agree. A concern about potential knock-on consequences is, of course, shared by many people. Considering the role and statutory power I have, it falls on me to withstand that. As I said, that would certainly be my intention. This is an exceptional position given the level of responsibility and the role it plays in Irish society...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: That is a handwritten note I have provided to the committee because I believe it is important that members have access to all the key documents. I believe the date on that note is 15 December. The booklet referred to by that handwritten note does not contain the specific salary because no decision had been made at that point. Obviously, as Secretary General of the Department of Public...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: To be honest, I am not sure. Robert Watt certainly would have known that there was a willingness to go beyond the standard terms but I would not have engaged directly in respect of the specific salary for the reasons I have outlined, namely, that it would be for the assistant secretary in terms of pay and Martin Fraser in the Department of the Taoiseach. I did my bit but I think that was a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: Yes, that is correct. They are grades 1, 2 and 3.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Taoiseach would have contacted Robert Watt, I would say, in the very early days of January. Mr. Watt contacted me and informed me that the Taoiseach had asked him to move across on an interim basis. I had known that was a possibility but that was the point at which it actually materialised. I made it clear that I would not stand in the way if that was deemed to be the best thing for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I think he would have known it was a possibility.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: A range of options was discussed at the meeting at the end of October. The Deputy knows which one we arrived at. Beyond that, it remained a live possibility that a Secretary General might be asked to move across on an interim basis.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: No, but I would certainly have known that it was a possibility and Mr. Watt certainly knew too.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Secretary General to the Government or the Taoiseach could have had a direct conversation at some point. It was not a secret between us that it was a possibility but it was only that. There was no certainty around it. It then happened in early January.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: He would have known it was a possibility but he certainly did not know it would happen and that he would go across on an interim basis.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: A number of options were discussed, including that the acting Secretary General at the time would remain in place. Any one of a number of serving Secretaries General could be asked to transfer across. The view at that meeting was that there would not be great hope of that being successful. The Department of Health would not be seen as a great prize. The view at that meeting was that it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: My view from the beginning was that in filling the permanent role in the Department of Health, there should be an open, competitive process, which is what we now have. It is important to see who may have an interest in applying for the role, whether in Ireland or internationally. People all over the world have tremendous experience in leading public and private sector organisations. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: To return to the Deputy's earlier point, an appointment as interim Secretary General in the Department is a very different thing to a permanent appointment or, to be more accurate, an appointment for a fixed term under contract. It was important, and the right decision to make, to open this up to a competitive process. The Deputy is right that I do not know who has or has not applied and I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy is asking me what that is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I do not have that figure in front of me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I think very carefully about the way in which I discharge all my duties. I do so, I believe, in a very considered and responsible way. Some day Deputy Doherty may well be sitting in this chair and he will have to make decisions. As Minister, one does not always have a report on one's desk telling one to make the decision - one must use judement. Sometimes it is not easy but there is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: There is a very clear division of responsibilities. The role of Cabinet is to approve the appointment of Secretaries General, and that was done in the normal way, as it should be done. When it comes to setting specific salaries, that is a matter under legislation for the relevant Minister, which is myself. Having said that, what the Taoiseach did do was to set out in detail at Cabinet the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: Not the specific salary level. To answer the Deputy’s question directly-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Michael McGrath: I make the point that Ministers, myself included, make decisions every day on far larger sums that do not go before Cabinet, decisions that have implications in terms of public policy and decisions that have real-life implications. In my introductory remarks, I set out the review of the NDP at €116 billion and plans to spend €88 billion as an Exchequer this year. Every day of...