Results 31,121-31,140 of 33,289 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (30 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The community, voluntary, charity and social enterprise is a vibrant sector providing a wide range of services to citizens under service level agreements and grant in aid agreements across multiple Departments and agencies. Due to the nature of its role, my Department does not directly provide services to the public. Hence, questions about specific aspects of service delivery, its...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Local Authorities (30 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department had no grant-aid returned or surrendered in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, €50,000 grant-aid was returned to this Department by Limerick City and County Council under the Public Service Innovation Fund.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (30 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Appointments Service have informed me that 84 appointments have been made in total with 5 of those assigned in 2024. 92% were internal appointments and 8% external. There are 51 remaining on panel. The Public Appointments Service advise that it is not possible to predict the number of appointments which will be made as this is dependent on receiving requests from clients.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for the question. In the period since 2020, the Government has had to negotiate a number of exceptional challenges, from Brexit to the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine and the subsequent impact on energy prices. All of these challenges required a response from the Government which had significant cost implications for the Exchequer. As a matter of policy it was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: This is something I and the Minister for Finance are considering at the moment. With regard to the charge, if that had been made, about the presentation of the budget and the policy content of it, we are one of a small group of countries in the European Union that has a surplus. Budget policy has evidently not contributed to the growth of inflation in our economy. The rate of expenditure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I differ from the Deputy on the point he has made regarding the value of the non-core expenditure framework. The reason for this is if we look at where we have been with non-core spending the reason it was allocated differently is we wanted to avoid the risk of the spending becoming permanent and being embedded in how we spend our country's money at a time in which the emergency that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy makes reference to the 2020 programme for Government. That did indeed lay out the commitment to reform and consolidate the ethics in public office legislation and, as she will be aware, my Department carried out a comprehensive review of the statutory framework as a first step in meeting this commitment. The review’s report was submitted to Government in December 2022 and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I believe that is achievable. In terms of the timelines for the heads of the Bill, I have some final work that I aim to do on it. At the latest, I aim to bring the heads of the Bill to the Government over a short number of months. That is what I am aiming to do. I accept the urgency on this and am committed to getting this piece of work done.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy cannot have it both ways. She cannot on the one hand say there is a need to maintain standards in public office and then make insinuations about my intentions. She cannot have it both ways. I appreciate the urgency of this legislation. It is something my Department is taking very seriously and I am committed to trying to get the heads of the Bill----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: ----completed, bringing the heads of the Bill to Government and commencing the legislative process in relation to it. As I said, the Deputy cannot have it both ways. She cannot say there is a need to stand up for standards in public office and then in the same breath insinuate that there are some kind of ulterior motives regarding where the Bill stands.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The majority of public servants recruited before 6 April 1995 pay class B or class D PRSI. This cohort of staff has no entitlement to social insurance benefits such as jobseeker’s benefit, the State pension contributory, SPC, or illness benefit. Their occupational pension and lump sum forms the entirety of their pension benefit from the public service. For all new entrants to the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I met the Minister for Justice about this matter yesterday. I would hope that by the summer we might have the outlines of how we would deal with this issue. The Minister for Justice has emphasised the importance of this issue to me and I am aware of the consequences it has for members of An Garda Síochána who have retired and the fact that these numbers are now growing.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I can simply say I take the Deputy's point. I am aware of the issue. Several Deputies have raised it with me, as has the Minister for Justice in recent months. We are looking at a way of trying to find a solution to this issue and I take on board the point made by the Deputy.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I emphasise that work on the heads of the Bill is significantly advanced. I want to be in a position to bring proposals to the Government very shortly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I aim to deal with both those matters. I aim to deal with the issue of liabilities and how they are registered and I also aim to bring forward proposals regarding strengthening the powers of SIPO to allow it to initiate its own investigations.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very much aware of the Bill brought forward by Deputies Mairéad Farrell and Buckley last year. It contained several different provisions relating to this matter. The legislation proposed had seven sections in total and many dealt with powers regarding the Standards in Public Office Commission. As I said, I will be bringing forward an approach that will deal with some of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Vote allocations are decided as part of the Estimates process each year. Following publication of the summer economic statement, the Secretary General of my Department writes to all other Departments requesting proposals for the upcoming budget, including where they consider additional funding to be required. These requests are then assessed as part of preparations for the budget. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Justice is very well funded but of course always makes the case for more funding to respond back to the many pressures and challenges it has to contend with. The Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána take extremely seriously and I believe, manage in a very responsible way, the issues of how we keep our communities safe and in particular any threats that may...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Process (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Justice absolutely treats all such issues with the seriousness they deserve, supports An Garda Síochána in its work in keeping those in our country safe and dealing with those who may have committed crimes in the past, particularly as I said, those of a sexual nature. The Department of Justice understandably will continue to make the case for additional funding....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget Targets (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Government expenditure policy is framed around the medium-term economic strategy which has two objectives, to ensure the long-term sustainability of core expenditure growth and to ensure that the investment in expenditure delivers improvement in public services and infrastructure. As outlined in the stability programme update published last week, the Government is providing investment of...