Results 2,821-2,840 of 2,965 for speaker:Robert Dowds

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Sometimes I hear complaints about delays in recruitment in terms of the public service and in the health area as well. Does Mr. Watt have any sense of how long it takes to fill posts? I have heard of some situations anecdotally such as an occupational therapist within the HSE system who was interviewed for one position but offered another after all the interviews. In some cases, there...

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Is that not way slower than other areas? I come from the teaching profession. When I applied for jobs, it did not take that long to fill them. Surely, in many cases, one is trying to fill positions that need to be filled yesterday, as it were.

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: I have mentioned the teaching sector but my impression is that the private sector fills posts much more rapidly and presumably they also want to get the best and most suitable people.

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: My last questions are on the area of procurement. Part of Mr. Watt's opening statement dealt with that issue. In the broad sense, we should all be satisfied if the changes in procurement policy are improving efficiency. On the other side of it, as individual Deputies, we get complaints, particularly from small companies that are feeling as though they are being pushed to the wall because...

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Is that within the Civil Service?

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Mr. Watt mentioned that some areas were non-compliant. I ask him to name the Departments that are non-compliant and outline what his Department is doing about that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Does the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have any role in terms of compliance in the context of spending by charitable organisations that receive Government funding?

Public Accounts Committee: 2014 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 18 - Shared Services
Vote 41 - Office of Government Procurement
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 5 - Management of Government Grants
Chapter 6 - Payroll Accrual for National Accounts
Chapter 7 - National Lottery Fund (19 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: That is an area that we need to focus on for the future.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 34 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (24 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: I acknowledge the huge work the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and his Department have done in the area of housing as I am more aware of it than most people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 34 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (24 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: On the policy of purchase of private housing for social use, are specific bands given in counties where there is a shortage of private housing? I can see the logic of it in a county such as Leitrim where there is much empty housing but in the greater Dublin area it would have a very negative impact if private units were being bought for social use. Where stands development on the supply of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 34 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (24 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Sometimes councils are reluctant to go to court because they expect their cases to be thrown out. Will the provisions mentioned help them to deal with the issue?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 34 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (24 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Do those figures include choice-based lettings?

Topical Issue Debate: Excise Duties (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to address this matter. The controversy around Volkswagen has caused people to focus on the issue. The Minister, or whoever holds the position after the election, will have a year long run-in to this but I ask him, nevertheless, if he will consider raising the tax on diesel relative to that on petrol. It should be done on a gradual basis so as...

Topical Issue Debate: Excise Duties (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: I thank the Minister for his reply. I am glad he drew attention to the incentives available to those who transfer to less polluting vehicles, including in the area of vehicle registration tax. I ask him to examine the action being taken in this area by France and Belgium. While I accept the Minister's point that diesel is the fuel of business, the other side of the coin is that the fuel...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Data (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: 59. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who are receiving a disability allowance, the number in Clondalkin, and the number in Lucan, County Dublin. [41964/15]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: 79. To ask the Minister for Finance if there are any tax arrangements in place to assist the Gaelic Players Association through the elite athletics sports scheme; if there is a record of the numbers of beneficiaries, and of the cost to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42040/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Prescription Charges (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: 180. To ask the Minister for Health the rationale for the €2.50 charge for the acquisition of medicine for those with a medical card. [41963/15]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: 220. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of annual subvention to Iarnród Éireann for each of the past five years. [41962/15]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sports Funding (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: 221. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding allocated to the Gaelic Players Association in the years from 1999 to 2015 in tabular form; if he is satisfied with the operation of the scheme, or if he has any plans to recast it; if he is satisfied that the scheme provides value for money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42039/15]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Credit Union Sector: Discussion (25 Nov 2015)

Robert Dowds: Some of my questions have already been answered. What would the witnesses see as the advantage in delaying the implementation of CP88? How would the witnesses see the modernisation of credit unions, with modern technology and so on, coming about? There would obviously be a hope of some Government involvement. How might that work out? On providing funding for social housing, would the...