Results 22,461-22,480 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (24 Nov 2021)

Michael McGrath: I take the point that the system can be and needs to be improved. We should also acknowledge that in many instances the PAS is finding it difficult to get the candidates. The average figure that the Deputy quotes of over 500 days is not solely down to the system. I acknowledge that there is a need to streamline and improve the system and that is an area of work that the HSE is focused on...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (24 Nov 2021)

Michael McGrath: No, it is not a number of months away. What I will not do is give half an answer. We will give the full answer when we are ready and when we have all this fully worked through. It is being actively worked on right across Government and a number of Departments are directly contributing to this work. It does not sit within any single Department. As the Deputy indicated, I have said...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (24 Nov 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Durkan very much for his question regarding the public finance position within the current year. As the Deputy knows, on budget day we published our updated budgetary forecasts and also our updated macroeconomic forecasts for the next number of years. It is fair to say that we have witnessed a strong rebound in the Irish economy in recent months. That has resulted in very...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (24 Nov 2021)

Michael McGrath: I have an open mind on it. It is not something that I have given a great deal of thought to because we have that ruling from the Information Commissioner. It is not a decision point for me at this moment in time. It is an issue that we should consider in the context of the legislation. In his comments, the Deputy drew a distinction between elected officials and unelected officials. We...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Government acknowledges the contribution of our front-line healthcare workers and all workers across the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. They have faced difficult challenges and have risen to the task. As a Government, we have on many occasions stated our commitment to recognise these efforts. There were a number of issues that had to be taken into consideration before we could...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Government and I are enormously appreciative of the extraordinary work of the many thousands of carers throughout the country at all times and, in particular, over the course of the pandemic. As the Deputy will know, last year we increased the carer's support grant to €1,850. That was paid in June 2021. She will also know that in the budget, we made changes for the first time in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The truth is that if the Government were to seek to meet all the legitimate calls that have been made to extend this pandemic payment, the cost of it would become very large. One could potentially be talking about €500 million or more. That is the truth if we were to include the full range of workers that have been suggested the Government include. Unfortunately, that is simply not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform Review (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy very much. The Haddington Road agreement provided for a range of significant reform and productivity measures including the introduction of the additional working hours for public servants the Deputy has referred to from 1 July 2013. She will be familiar with the details of those additional working hours. Chapter 4 of Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform Review (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy very much. It is fair to say that the Haddington Road hours have real value, especially in areas such as healthcare. These are hours in which really important work is carried out. There is a cost to replacing those hours. The work of assessing exactly what that cost will be is ongoing. My Department has, of course, carried out its own assessment over time but the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform Review (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: If we get to that point, and this matter is subject to a Government decision yet to be taken, because I must consider the report in the round and then bring a recommendation to Government, which I will do, and if changes are to be implemented, then it will be a matter for the individual sectors to determine how those changes are to be implemented. All sectors have been aware since late 2020...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Public service pay has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the Croke Park agreement was negotiated in 2010. These collective agreements have helped to ensure that public pay is managed in a sustainable, affordable and orderly manner. These agreements have also enabled significant reform of public services and changes to work practices. The current public service...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: On the pandemic recognition payment, I hear what the Deputy has to say. We discussed this earlier. The challenge for the Government is this. The Deputy mentioned retail workers. There are up to 300,000 retail workers in Ireland. There are about 120,000 carers in receipt of the carer's support grant. The Deputy can do the maths. If we add that to the cost of what the Government has...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I have acknowledged that the price pressures are impacting on people negatively. It is not just energy prices although the headline inflation rate has been driven up substantially by energy prices. We are also seeing it coming through in rising food prices in our supermarkets. Of course that is a concern. However, we have to look at what the Government is doing in the round. I spoke...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Information on expenditure is published each month in the Fiscal Monitor, with the provisional end-December 2021 gross capital expenditure position recorded as €9.9 billion. A breakdown of both current and capital expenditure for each Department is set out on pages 19 and 20 of the Fiscal Monitor, published on 5 January this year. The provisional data in the Fiscal Monitor...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The outturn that we achieved in 2021 represented a strong performance, particularly in light of the fact that non-essential construction was closed for so long. My overall message is that, with a record budget of €12 billion in 2022, I want to see that money spent on new schools, our hospitals, climate action measures, public transport projects, road projects and so on. Working...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: In my time in the Department, I have introduced new reporting requirements whereby the Departments with the largest capital budgets report directly to the Cabinet on their outturn from capital expenditure. It is an issue that I review regularly. I have emphasised the importance of and need to implement the public capital programme. This is money that we want to see spent. I will be...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The EU's recovery and resilience facility will make some €724 billion available to member states in the form of grants and loans to help repair the economic and social damage brought about by the pandemic and to make post-Covid European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions....

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy has indicated, we have 16 investment projects and nine reform measures. While my Department has the implementing body and the delivering committee which will monitor the implementation of the plan and will be responsible for all of the contact with the EU bodies, responsibility for implementing the individual measures will lie with the relevant Departments and bodies. ...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: There is a lot to get through in a minute. First, in relation to SMEs, we very deliberately made the decision that under both the green transition and digital transformation, there would be an opportunity for grants to be made available to the enterprise sector to assist them in that transition. Those grants will be brought forward over the course of the national resilience and recovery...

Ceisteanna Eile – Other Questions: Irish Language (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Cuirim fáilte roimh achtú Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú) 2021. Is nóiméad tábhachtach é seo do lucht na Gaeltachta, do na daoine a labhraíonn Gaeilge agus dóibh siúd a bhfuil suim acu sa teanga. Tagann sé i ndiaidh tréimhse fhada chomhairliúcháin agus...