Results 21,881-21,900 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I recall our discussions on this and related topics during our work on the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. Beginning with a pilot programme introduced for the 2018 budgetary cycle, equality budgeting is a way of approaching and understanding the budget as a process that embodies long-standing societal choices about how resources are used, rather than simply a neutral process of resource...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for highlighting a practical example of how equality budgeting has to be part of the decision-making process. When the Government, for example, decides to increase carbon tax, how will it ensure that people who are the most impacted are protected from that? That is why the decision has been made, for example, to provide some of those resources to deal with fuel poverty,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: We are publishing a great deal of material in respect of equality budgeting, as I have said, including in the Revised Estimates Volume and in the public service performance report. We have to embed thinking on equality budgeting right across Government. Work in that regard is ongoing. As the Deputy is aware, retrofitting as part of our submission to the EU under the national recovery and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Thank you Deputy for this question. To provide some background to this issue, you will be aware that counsel fees were reduced in both 2009 and 2010 respectively as part of a broader Government agenda to reduce escalating legal costs. A further reduction was imposed in 2011 primarily to control spending under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme. These reductions were underpinned by Government...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 (the 2012 Act), represents the delivery of a key structural reform measure. Among other things, the 2012 Act provided for the creation of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme (Single Scheme), the extension of pension abatement across the public service and the extension of the 40 years' (or equivalent)...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Programme for Government (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Programme for Government recognises the special economic and social role that agriculture plays in Ireland, but also commits to the creation of schemes that will encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way. This is with the aim of developing a sustainable Irish agricultural sector that protects the environment and aligns with emerging consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: In the period 2014 to 2019 there was increased expenditure on public services and infrastructure, with steady increases in current expenditure underpinned by sustainable increases in revenue, and significant growth in capital investment reflecting the reductions over the period 2008 to 2014 and the importance of capital investment in delivering on social and economic objectives. This...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have statutory responsibility for the terms and conditions of service, including remuneration, of civil servants, as set out in the Civil Service Regulation Acts. In meeting these responsibilities as regards the terms to apply for recruitment to the post of Secretary General in the Department of Health, I engaged with the Taoiseach, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The matter of a four day working week has been raised by the Four Day Week Ireland campaign led by Forsa, ICTU and other civil society groups. Correspondence on this issue has been received in my Department and I note that the campaign has engaged with the Tanáiste on their proposals. In the context of the civil and public service, there are two main concerns in considering a move to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Provision (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department is currently developing the next phase of public service reform, to follow on from Our Public Service 2020 (OPS2020)- the development and innovation framework for the Public Service. It is in this context that we are considering how to best progress the Programme for Government commitment to “(I)ntroduce a plain language requirement on all...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: It is important to acknowledge from the outset that by any objective measure the Freedom of Information system as it stands appears to be operating effectively and delivering on its goal of openness, transparency and accountability for public bodies. The volume of requests processed annually by public bodies has almost doubled since the introduction of the 2014 Freedom of Information Act. In...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 161 together. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is responsible for the salaries of staff employed under the Secretarial Assistance Scheme who provide administrative support to Members of the Oireachtas. The Deputy will be aware that SIPTU has been engaging with the Commission in relation to the terms and conditions of its members who are...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Children's Hospital (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Minister for Health and his Department have oversight responsibility in relation to the National Children’s Hospital. I understand that the Minister for Health is in the process of preparing an update on this matter for Government.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121, 122, 150 and 157 together. On 28 May 2021 Ireland’s draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan was approved by the Government and submitted to the European Commission. It will now be assessed by the Commission which will, within two months, make a recommendation to the Council of the European Union, on the basis of which implementation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Directives (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law ("the Whistleblowing Directive") was adopted in October 2019 and Ireland has until 17 December 2021 to transpose it into Irish law. Ireland already has comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation in place in the form of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Transposition of the Directive will require...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Defective Building Materials (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The remediation schemes arising from the use of defective concrete blocks come under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The management and administration of the schemes are therefore a matter for that Department.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Northern Ireland (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Irish Government has advocated strongly for a new EU-funded cooperation programme between Ireland and Northern Ireland for the 2021-2027 EU programming period. I am very pleased that such a programme has been secured. The new PEACE PLUS programme will combine and build on the current North South cross border cooperation programmes, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA., and will aim to build peace...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Circulars (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: In 2019, my Department published Circular 20/2019: Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement. The Circular instructs Departments to consider including green criteria in public procurement processes where: - Clearly defined, quantifiable, verifiable, and measurable criteria have been developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Policy (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Since its establishment in 2011, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council carries out an important independent role in assessing Government’s fiscal strategy. In its recent Fiscal Assessment Report (FAR) the Council has produced a detailed analysis on the fiscal projections in the Stability Programme Update (SPU) and also on the fiscal response to the Covid crisis. In this regard, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As part of the budgetary process each year, my Department sets overall expenditure ceilings for each Ministerial Vote Group. These are laid out at Budget time in the Expenditure Report with further detail then provided in the Revised Estimates for Public Services. Following allocation of each Ministerial Expenditure Ceiling, it is a matter for each Minister to assign funding as appropriate at...