Results 30,241-30,260 of 33,280 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As I said, if the Deputy has particular projects that he believes are not being progressed because we do not have a broad strategy in place for them, I am sure he will let me know about them. When I engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and their officials, I have a sense of their huge commitment to this area and to trying to make a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: This refers to our focus on the transition to a lower-carbon and climate-resilient society. The next decade is critical in order to address the climate crisis and this is a core part of the national development plan. In terms of the figures in the plan, through the period out to 2030 an additional €5 billion of the expected €9.5 billion in carbon tax receipts will be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: One thing that is for certain is that the Deputy and I will not be in bed by 11 p.m., given the questions we are dealing with here. The night rate is but a dream for us. The Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, has just informed me that there is good news in terms of the roll-out of smart meters as the figure is now up to 1.5 million meters. I understand there is every prospect that we will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, has a green skills programme under way to help ensure we have the best chance of getting people available to deliver our retrofitting programme. I have an update in respect of where we are with our overall apprenticeship programme. As regards construction, we now have 8,286 total apprenticeship...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Construction Industry (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has continued to work closely with the construction sector through the construction sector group, CSG, to improve productivity and delivery capacity. The CSG provides a useful forum for engagement with the sector on these issues. The Building Innovation report published by my Department has identified a range of actions to drive innovation in the sector. There are 43...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Construction Industry (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. That is exactly what is under way at the moment. The value of a procurement framework is it provides an overall framework within which public bodies should have consistent standards for being able to procure services or goods and it is of help in making procurement processes work more efficiently. For that reason, we are now looking at the roll-out, as I said a moment...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Construction Industry (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I will certainly think about it. I appreciate the point the Deputy is making that we should have a target for the number of homes delivered via modern methods of construction. I can definitely see the logic of that. The only thing is, I would not want to agree to any further targets that make the delivery of our overall housing targets even more complex than it already is. Where we agree...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I am responsible for the public spending code, which sets the value-for-money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. In March this year, I informed the Government of a package of significant actions aimed at enhancing project delivery for the national development plan, NDP. This package represented a fresh approach to securing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Any process that reduces the number of steps that need to be taken and decreases the number of projects that need to go through a more thorough and broader evaluation process, which we have done by increasing the threshold from €100 million to €200 million, is going to help with speed. I anticipate that the improvements for projects overall in how much time will be saved by...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Reviews (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Public Service Management Act 1997 ("the PSMA"). This Act was introduced to provide a statutory underpinning for the Strategic Management Initiative. It provided for a new management structure for the Civil Service to enhance the management, effectiveness and transparency of the operations of Departments of State and certain other offices of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Spending Code (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The most recent updates to the Public Spending Code which I outlined in March this year were informed by a review process involving key stakeholders. The expected impacts of these changes are to:Reduce the administrative burden in delivering major projectsAllow for projects below the major project threshold of €200m to proceed more speedily through the appraisal and evaluation process...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As a result of Ireland's robust economic growth, unemployment is low and labour market conditions are tight. Labour and skills shortages are presenting challenges for employers across the labour market, including the civil and public service. Despite this, staff numbers in the public sector have continued to grow consistently. Between 2015 and 2022, the estimated numbers in full-time...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. National Strategic Outcome 6 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030 provides for high quality international connectivity. 2022 saw clear progress against this goal including through...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments. Management and delivery of individual investment projects within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP) are key responsibilities of every Department and Minister. However, the Government and I acknowledge that the significant...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government’s approach to public expenditure policy seeks to ensure that the level of core expenditure growth is sustainable and that investment in expenditure delivers improvements to public services and infrastructure. Careful management of our economy and public finances over the past number of years has allowed Government to:provide increased resources for core public services,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: National Strategic Objective (NSO) 4 relates to Sustainable Mobility. While many of the projects under this strategic objective take a number of years to deliver fully, 2022 saw clear progress in the delivery of some key projects. BusConnects recently added 3 more spines linking West Dublin with Kildare. Proposals on BusConnects Cork network were published by the National Transport Authority...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. Individual projects are selected based on a detailed process which begins with Departments or Agencies setting their own sectoral strategy and goals in line with the National Development Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government has committed €165 billion funding for capital investment, as set out in the NDP published in October 2021. This expenditure was considered and agreed in order to support those sectors that would be key in delivering the ten National Strategic Outcomes (NSOs) identified in the National Planning Framework (NPF). The NDP contains expenditure commitments for NSO 3 which...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments. Over the lifetime of the National Development Plan from 2021 to 2030, the Government is investing €165 billion in new and upgraded infrastructure that will meet the needs of our growing population. This year alone over €12 billion will be...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Regional Development (27 Jun 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government and this priority is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040. This strategic plan includes the National Planning Framework (NPF), which sets the overarching spatial strategy for the next twenty years, along with the revised National Development Plan 2021-30 (NDP) which was published in October 2021. The revised NDP provides a...