Results 22,501-22,520 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Reviews (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The information requested by the Deputy for my Department and the Office of Government Procurement, which is also part of my Department, is set out in the following tables. Department of Public Expenditure and Reform  Title Planned End Date Review of Civil Service Organisational Design and Structures Quarter 1 2022 Post...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy has asked if a recent PQ to the Minister for Health on the Critical Illness Protocol (CIP) provisions of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme as set out in S.I.124 of 2014 relates to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and I can confirm that these regulations were introduced by this department. Public servants who suffer from a critical illness or injury can apply for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Social Media (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The information requested by the Deputy for my Department and for the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out in the following tables. Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Social Media Platform Cost LinkedIn €4,404 Facebook €2,332 Twitter €1,901 ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Contracts (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that details of the consultancy services, professional fees and legal advice spend by my Department is regularly updated and published on gov.ie.  Details of this spend since the Department’s establishment in 2011 up to the end of September 2021 can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/8b97d6-con...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Reports (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The total number of public service employees at 30 September 2021, the most recent quarterly data available, was 364,352 in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms. This number includes 45,108 civil servants, comprising 42,726 civil service employees (FTE) whose details are captured on the Civil Service HR Databank, a further 905 civil servants who are primarily serving abroad, and 1,477 civil...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I would refer the Deputy to my recent replies to a number of related Parliamentary Questions on this matter (PQs 62607/21, 56346/21, 54814/21, 55749/21). As the Deputy will be aware, this competition was undertaken by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) as the independent, statutory body that provides professional recruitment and selection services to the civil service.  PAS forms...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Data (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has no such contracts in place.  However, the Deputy may wish to be aware that my Department’s telephony service is provided by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).  This service is provided under a Department of Finance contract in the context of a number of services that are shared by both Departments.  I...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) currently has 74 staff assigned and 31 vacancies. Recruitment of skilled IT and Digital resources is challenging and the Department is actively working with the Public Appointments Commission (PAS) to fill vacancies. It is expected that vacancies at HEO and EO will be filled with successful candidates from recent and ongoing PAS competitions...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Cybersecurity Policy (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 402 to 405, inclusive, together. In relation to my Department, I wish to advise that ICT services for my Department are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) which is a division of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  Information relating to services provided and or responses initiated to events in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: An initial public consultation on the scope of the freedom of information review closed a week before Christmas, having received almost 1,200 responses.  The process of analysing the responses has commenced, which will inform a consultation paper to be published in the spring.  A customer satisfaction survey is also set to launch shortly, which seek to gain a deeper insight into the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Measures (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Legislation to amend the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 to provide for the transposition of EU Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law ("the Whistleblowing Directive") is at an advanced stage of preparation and will be published shortly. The Pre-legislative Scrutiny Report on the draft general scheme of the Bill, prepared by the Joint Committee...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy will be aware, the Report on the Processes and Procedures Applying to the Appointment of Senior Executives in the Public Service by the Houses of the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts and the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach is a lengthy examination of complex issues that span a number of policy and legislative areas. Given...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The recommendations of the Independent Body Examining Additional Working Hours were received earlier this month. However, estimating the cost of implementing the recommendations will depend on the detail contained in the Independent Body’s full report. The Terms of Reference of the Independent Body state that, as part of the deliberative process, the Independent Body will consider: ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Programmes (19 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The new PEACE PLUS programme will continue the vital work of the two North South cooperation programmes, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA, into the 2021-27 period.  As the successor to both programmes, PEACE PLUS will be a cohesive new programme for the Irish border counties and Northern Ireland.  Financial commitments from the EU, the UK and Ireland mean that the PEACE PLUS...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy will be aware that I launched Civil Service Renewal 2030, a ten-year strategy for Civil Service Renewal, in May of last year along with the Taoiseach. This strategy was driven by the need to develop a clear direction for the future of the Civil Service, while also responding to today’s challenging environment. The strategy provides a ten-year framework focused on three core...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Government acknowledges the contribution of our frontline 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 which needed to be taken in to consideration before we...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Cybersecurity Policy (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: In November 2021, the Public Sector Cyber Security Baseline Standard was published by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. This was a commitment in the National Cyber Security Strategy 2019-2024 and sets out a range of guidance for civil and public service bodies as they continue to work to mitigate the risk of cyber crime and improve resilience of their ICT and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Significant direct expenditure supports have been put in place by Government since early 2020 to respond to the impacts of Covid-19. This funding has been critical in supporting our people and businesses impacted by the pandemic and in providing the necessary funding to allow our key public services respond effectively to the crisis. Some €30 billion in additional funding was made...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of the individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with the individual sponsoring...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: There is not currently a specific internal workplace policy on domestic and sexual violence and abuse in the Civil Service, however, the Civil Service does have a policy covering unpaid leave for domestic reasons of up to two months (Circular 05/2010: Force Majeure and Other Urgent Family Reasons Leave) circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/finance/2010/05.pdf A commitment has been made in the...