Results 23,201-23,220 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy. I will be honest, I do not know the answer to his question about the appointment of the additional specialist nurses for people who are taking sodium valproate, but I will ask the Minister for Health to revert to him, having contacted the HSE.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Government policy on LNG is as set out in the programme for Government. An energy security review is under way, with which the Deputy will be familiar. She will no doubt have heard the Taoiseach earlier today emphasising the importance of the transition to renewable energy sources and the importance of us doing that in an accelerated fashion. That is where this country and the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy is right to identify the area of offshore renewable as one of great potential. That is why the Government passed legislation in respect of, and is setting up, the new maritime area regulatory body, which will early next year assume the full suite of statutory functions, in essence to make sure we have a system that is fit for purpose in licensing and regulating this sector. I...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy is aware, a general round increase in annualised basic salary of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, is provided for on 1 October 2021 in Building Momentum – A New Public Service Agreement, 2021-2022. Under the current pension increase policy for pre-existing public service pension schemes, this increase falls to be passed on to those pensions awarded under the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: The most recent version of the capital investment tracker was released on 18 May 2022. Previous editions of the tracker were published in September 2017, September 2018, May 2019, January 2020, December 2020 and October 2021. The Tracker is drawn from data provided by relevant Government Departments and agencies. It focuses mainly on projects and programmes with costs greater than €20...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: Details of the 320 projects from the May 2022 edition of the Project Ireland 2040 interactive map being progressed in the five cities are set out in the attached Excel file. This data is a snapshot in time and is current as of May 2022. The interactive map and capital tracker serves to highlight the diverse range of infrastructural projects being delivered throughout Ireland. The...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flexible Work Practices (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: The experience of the COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on the world of work, with an overnight move by necessity to remote working in various sectors. There have been many positive aspects to this experience for both employers and employees. It has also highlighted certain challenges. In the case of the Civil Service, remote working will be facilitated into the future on a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (31 May 2022)

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 rates up to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff (31 May 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that as of end April 2022, there were 681 staff employed in my Department (of which 237 are employed in the Office of Government Procurement therein), comprised of 346 females and 335 males. The gender breakdown at each grade is set out in the table below: Grade Male Female Total Secretary General 1 ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Radon Gas Levels (2 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that theoffices accommodating my Department are not included in a high-risk area for radon, as identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Further to this, the offices of my Department are located in the lowest EPA risk rated area.  Results from the latest radon gas test carried out by my Department showed no significant traces of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Contracts (2 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department, including the Office of Government Procurement, has not awarded any contracts to the named company.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan for the question. 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 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....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan. As we stand here today in the Chamber, the officials from my Department are in negotiations with the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to see if new pay arrangements can be agreed. I do not want to say anything that would be unhelpful to that process. I hope it comes to a successful conclusion. We are entering a critical phase in those...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I have acknowledged publicly the need to go beyond terms of the current agreement. This is why those negotiations are under way today, and it is hoped they will come to a successful conclusion shortly. The backdrop is challenging in a number of respects. I have acknowledged the impact of inflation on the living standards of workers, both public-sector and private sector workers. There is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan for raising this important issue. I will take this opportunity once again to acknowledge and pay tribute to the immense contribution made by our public servants, in particular across our health services, during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their efforts ensured we kept services to the public and to the vulnerable in our society running, to the greatest extent...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The special leave with pay scheme was an exceptional intervention, which was warranted back in March 2020 because of the need to ensure people who contracted Covid did not have to go to work and would be paid accordingly. It was never designed as an instrument in itself to deal with long Covid, which was not even recognised at the time as being in existence. We have the standard public...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Minister for Health is acutely conscious of this issue and there is work on it ongoing within his Department. There are legacy cases of people who, unfortunately, contracted Covid, quite possibly in the workplace, at a time when the risks were not fully known. They went to work to protect everybody else. The Department of Health is working on proposals that will be shared with my...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations for Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the national development plan, rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: In agreeing an NDP out to 2030 and setting capital budgets for each Department out to 2025, we now have a multi-annual framework that will enable Ministers and their Departments to plan the delivery of vital infrastructure projects over a number of years. At €12 billion this year, we have the largest ever capital budget and there is an obligation on every Department to ensure we are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: On that point, as the Deputy may be aware, we are setting up a new climate division within my Department because we sit at the centre of government and have a key role in ensuring Government policy will be applied consistently throughout the Departments. Agreeing the multi-annual capital framework has enabled Departments to undertake that co-ordinated forward planning he talked about. It is...