Results 21,921-21,940 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

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

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 237 and 247 together. I fully acknowledge and appreciate the very important work undertaken by barristers who prosecute criminal work on behalf of the State and my Department has engaged constructively with key stakeholders including the Bar Council of Ireland, the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions and the Department of Justice in relation to this...

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

Michael McGrath: Civil Service Renewal 2030, a new ten-year strategy for the Civil Service, was launched on 21st May. In addition to publishing the strategy, the launch provided an opportunity to highlight a number of projects undertaken across the Civil Service which show the important work carried out by civil servants up and down the country, particularly in responding to the challenges the country has...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Measures (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 239 and 240 together. 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. On 12 May 2021, following approval from Government, I published the General Scheme of a Bill to amend the Protected...

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

Michael McGrath: The number of Civil Servants recorded as being on COVID-19 special leave with pay at the end of 2020 was 139. As at the end of May 2021, this number was at 14. Special leave with pay applies in lieu of sick leave for COVID-19 when an employee is advised to self-isolate and is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or had a positive test. The full details of the criteria for, and duration of,...

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

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that neither my Department nor the Office of Government Procurement, which is also part of my Department, have incurred any costs associated with social media advertising in the period specified. This is also the position for the bodies under the aegis of my Department, with the exception of the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Public Appointments Service...

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

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department incurred social media content production costs of €593.00 in the specified period. The purpose of this spend was for the continuation of a public awareness video recording on a social media platform, which advised of the extension of the deadline for submissions to the public consultation phase of the National Development Plan Review.

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

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that neither my Department nor the Office of Government Procurement, which is also part of my Department, have incurred any costs associated with public relations consultancy in the period specified. This is also the position for the bodies under the aegis of my Department, with the exception of the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and the Office of the National...

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

Michael McGrath: The cost of gov.ie until the end of 2020 was €2,446,252. This includes all hosting, development and content migration. However, the cost-savings of the project have totalled €2.92 million with further savings yet to be realised. There are also many other benefits associated with having a central point of access for government departments. This has resulted in a cost per...

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

Michael McGrath: A review has been carried out. This identified a range of issues – the majority of which have been addressed by the gov.ie development team. A follow-on accessibility review is planned and a report on this will be published on gov.ie in the coming months.

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

Michael McGrath: gov.ie is currently partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. The main areas in which it is not compliant are: Tables: Tables need a new line of header code to be accessible. (This will be available by the end of July). Images: Not all images have image or meta-descriptions. (This will be fixed by mid-July). PDFs: Not all PDFs are accessible. (staff are being trained in making...

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

Michael McGrath: gov.ie has been in beta since October 2018 and will come out of beta once all departments are live later in 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Climate Action Plan (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Action 6a of the 'Interim Climate Actions 2021' called on my Department to "Develop a methodology for the analysis of departmental capital investment proposals from a climate perspective" as part of the larger action to "Publish a revised National Development Plan detailing Government capital expenditures planned over 2021 – 2030." This methodology was developed by officials in my...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Climate Action Plan (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The actions committed to in the Interim Annex of Climate Actions by my Department are broadly focused on ensuring that the tools and procedures in use across Government, such as the Public Spending Code and public procurement rules, take sufficient account of climate considerations. The specific actions assigned to my Department include activities such as the progressive implementation...

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

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that in line with the requirements of Section 4 of the Public Service Management Act, 1997 my Department prepares a progress report on the implementation of its strategy statement annually. The Annual Report for 2020 was published on 12 May, was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and is available on the gov.ie website at this link: The Executive Summary of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Equality Issues (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have policy responsibility for recruitment to the Civil Service. The Civil Service is strongly committed to equality of opportunity for all in terms of its recruitment and employment practices. This commitment is demonstrated in the Civil Service2030 Renewal Strategythat was launched last month. The Public Appointments Services (PAS), which...

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

Michael McGrath: The process of unwinding the Financial Emergency (FEMPI) legislation commenced under the Lansdowne Road Agreement 2016 – 2018, with the remainder of the process largely completed under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018 – 2020 (PSSA). This will continue under ‘Building Momentum: A New Public Service Agreement, 2021 – 2022’. At this point, salary...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Inflation Rate (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Construction Sector Group (CSG), established in 2018 and chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, ensures regular and open dialogue between Government and the construction sector. Its remit includes, but is not limited to, considering opportunities to introduce reforms within the sector that will help in controlling construction price inflation. To support the work of the...

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

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 258 and 265 together. I thank the Deputy for the questions. Ongoing reform of our Public Services continues to be an integral part of this Department's function since its establishment in 2011. In view of the significant and pervasive impacts experienced as a consequence of the Covid19 crisis, the Government's programme of reform and modernisation will become...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Sustained reform of public works procurement has been ongoing since 2004 when the construction procurement reform initiative commenced. The publication of the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) in 2007 marked a new departure in the procurement of public works projects. All public works projects that are delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the Government's capital plan must...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Public procurement is governed by EU and national rules, the aim of which is to ensure that procurement transactions and decisions are open and transparent, fair, equitable and achieve value for money. These rules govern the way public authorities and certain utility operators purchase goods, works and services. The rules are set out in four principal EU Directives (Directive 2009/81/EC,...