Results 22,541-22,560 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

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

Michael McGrath: In Programme for Government – Our Shared Future, the Government set out a commitment to developing a set of well-being indices to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how Irish society is fairing.  In July 2021, the Government published the First Report on a Well-being Framework for Ireland.  This initial Framework has set out an overarching vision of “enabling...

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

Michael McGrath: The Civil Service Renewal 2030 Strategy - 'Building on our Strengths' - commits to developing and implementing flexible working models, including the acceleration of online systems, virtual teams and blended working options.  In July, 2021 the Government approved a Policy Statement on Blended Working in the Civil Service.  The Policy Statement commits the Civil...

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

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy will be aware, this Government has approved the allocation of record levels of capital expenditure to Departments over the last number of years and will continue to do so as demonstrated by the publication of multi-annual capital allocations out to 2025.  The Public Spending Code (PSC) sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Chapter 4 of Building Momentum - A new public service agreement, 2021-2022 provides that the parties to the Agreement recognise and accept that certain measures introduced under the Public Service Stability Agreements, including the “Haddington Road Agreement” are considered outstanding matters to be resolved as part of this Agreement. In this context Section 4.2 of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Ethics in Public Office (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy may be aware, the current statutory provisions (the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, cited together as ‘the Ethics Acts’) oblige the Attorney General to disclose interests (including those of family members) which may materially influence the performance of his or her functions to both the Taoiseach and to the Standards...

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

Michael McGrath: The update of the Public Spending Code in 2019 combined with lessons learned from domestic projects and international best practice highlighted the need for more structured scrutiny of major public investment projects, particularly in the areas of planned delivery, costings and risk. This is to ensure that Government is making decisions with a full picture of the proposal, its costs, risks...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Under the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (the “Commission”) has the power to regulate the provision of “secretarial facilities” to Members. “Secretarial facilities” is a term encompassing the staff employed under the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance. The Act requires the Commission to obtain the...

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

Michael McGrath: Total gross voted expenditure for 2021, as reported in the December Fiscal Monitor, amounted to €87,542 million. This comprised almost €77.6 billion in current spending and over €9.9 billion in capital expenditure. This level of expenditure is nearly €2.3 billion or 2.6% higher than expenditure in 2020. The total gross amount allocated to Ministerial Vote...

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

Michael McGrath: Information on expenditure is published each month in the Fiscal Monitor.  The gross capital expenditure to end-December 2021 for each Department can be found on pages 19 and 20 of the Fiscal Monitor, published on 5 January 2022.  For the Deputy’s convenience, I have included a table below detailing the gross capital expenditure position for 2021 and the 2022 gross capital...

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

Michael McGrath: The update of the Public Spending Code in 2019 combined with lessons learned from domestic projects and international best practice highlighted the need for more structured scrutiny of major public investment projects, particularly in the areas of planned delivery, costings and risk. This is to ensure that Government is making decisions with a full picture of the proposal, its costs, risks...

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

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 179, 180 and 181 together. My Department implements a multi-layered approach to cyber security and to protecting ICT systems, infrastructures, and services. Information relating to services provided and or responses initiated to events in other Departments should be directed to these Departments. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Action 20 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan provides for the implementation of a programme of organisational capability reviews, the purpose being: ‘To embed a culture of regular and objective assessments of the capacity and capability of each Department to achieve its objectives and take the necessary action to close any gaps.’ Six reviews have  been completed to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that in November 2020 my Department published Ireland’s first Public Service Innovation Strategy – ‘Making Innovation Real’. This strategy aims to develop, foster and sustain innovation capacity and capability across the public service. High level goals focus on developing user-centred services; developing an...

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

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 184, 185, 186, 187 and 191 together. Since the onset of the pandemic, significant additional funding had been provided by Government to allow Departments respond to the impact of the pandemic on citizens, businesses and public services. This expenditure, to fund temporary measures to address the impact of the pandemic, has been dealt with separately from...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Project Ireland 2040 (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 189 together. The National Development Plan (NDP) was published on 4thOctober 2021, committing to an overall investment of €165 billion in the years from 2021 to 2030. It is important to acknowledge that the majority of public investment projects are delivered on budget and on time and there is a high level of professionalism across the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy will agree, the global pandemic and the UK’s departure from the EU have dominated the policy landscape over the last two years.  In relation to the global pandemic, significant direct expenditure supports have been put in place by the Government since early 2020 to respond to the impacts of COVID-19.  This funding has been critical in supporting people...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (20 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: Public Procurement in Ireland is governed by EU and National Rules. The National Public Procurement Policy Framework (NPPPF) sets out the overarching policy which consists of five strands: 1. Legislation (Directives, Regulations) 2. Government Policy (Circulars etc.) 3. Capital Works Management Framework for Public Works and Construction related Services 4. General Procurement...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputies are speaking out of both sides of their mouths.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (25 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: My Department developed Guidance and FAQs on working arrangements and temporary assignments during COVID-19 for civil and public service employers. In this guidance, individual employers are advised of the need to identify which of their employees fall into the category of civil and public service employees. This Guidance and FAQs document has been continually updated to reflect public health...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Horse Racing Industry (25 Jan 2022)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 252, 255, 256 and 257 together. Section 21 of the Irish Horse Racing Industry Act 1994 provides that the terms and conditions for the CEO of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) are subject to the approval of the Authority (HRI) with the consent of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Code of...