Results 31,141-31,160 of 33,289 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, I am, but it continues to be a challenge, one I and my predecessors have faced over many years because in some cases, Government spending can be ahead of profile. Despite the best efforts of all involved, that has required Supplementary Estimates. All that being said, however, we have to look at where overall Government expenditure has been in the last number of years. It has grown...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The inflation would be on two different levels. It would relate to supply where, undoubtedly, from a capital point of view, we have seen cost pressure and pressure with tendering and supply chains, which is driven by all the economic developments of which Deputy Durkan will be very aware. For want of a better phrase, I would not at all use inflation with regard to demand. I do not think...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is aware of the value of the overall national development plan and the number of years over which the money will be spent, so I will not go into those facts and figures now. Rather, I will cut to the question he asked about national strategic outcome, NSO, 10. NSO 10 refers to access to quality childcare, education and health services and aims to ensure that the co-ordination...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy pointed out the important role special schools play with regard to the movement of pupils from primary to post-primary. I can absolutely assure him that in my engagement with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and formerly with her predecessor, Deputy Madigan, the importance of special schools is fully recognised by the Department of Education....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I have visited such a school myself and am absolutely aware of their importance. So many girls and boys who have additional needs need to be supported and educated in a very different school environment. I have seen the impact a couple of these schools have made and the difference they can make to the life journeys of students and their families. I again assure the Deputy that in all the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not aware of any of it being unspent. The urgency of this is appreciated and I can assure the Deputy that whenever I meet the Minister and her Department to discuss capital funding, they give the focus to special schools that he is seeking.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy knows, we have a national development plan of €165 billion over the coming years, which was published early in the lifetime of this Government. We have added to that with the allocation of a further €2.25 billion between 2024 and 2026, which follows the conclusion of more than 30 meetings between me and ministerial colleagues. In 2024, we now have €13...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: In terms of speedy progress, I have identified two matters. The first one is our efforts to ensure that we have enough companies tendering for public service contracts so that we have an adequate level of competition within the tendering process to allow key projects to go ahead. The second relates to the continued challenges we have with cost-price inflation. We are not seeing the surges...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: There can be a number of factors behind a delay in a project. I highlighted to Deputy Durkan what in my experience are the two key reasons. I will make the general observation that there is always a demand for more projects to go ahead than there is funding available at any given time. All Ministers want to be in a position to spend more and to allow many more projects to go ahead that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for this important question. In budget 2024, a sum of €4.5 billion was allocated for non-core issues. These are costs that are driven by external developments or additional EU-funded projects that had to be reflected in our expenditure ceiling. The allocation covered pressures such as our humanitarian response to the arrivals fleeing war in Ukraine, legacy Covid...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The stability programme update did not make reference to non-core expenditure. In one recent stability programme update we did make reference to non-core expenditure and in another we did not. The Government has not made a decision yet on whether there will be a concept of non-core spending used in budget 2025. I acknowledge the benefits of non-core expenditure, which I emphasised earlier,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Protected Disclosures (1 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy should be made aware that my office received this correspondence on 18 April. A reply to this person has been issued. More generally, as the Deputy is aware, legislation to protect workers who raise concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace has been in place in Ireland for some time and this year will mark ten years since the Protected Disclosures Act was enacted in 2014....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (1 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government has committed €165 billion towards capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in 2021. An additional €2.25 billion of windfall corporate tax receipts has also been allocated from 2024 to 2026, to provide funding for critical infrastructure projects that are at an advanced stage as well as to the existing Climate Action Fund....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Climate Change Policy (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The priorities and planned outputs of each of the Divisions of my Department are laid out in Departmental business plans, as agreed and published each year on gov.ie. The business planning process takes place annually and enables my officials to plan and deliver on the strategic objectives outlined in the overarching Departmental Statement of Strategy 2023- 2025. The mission, strategic goals...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in 2021. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement (SES) 2023, an additional €2.25 billion of capital funding was made available to be allocated in the 2024 to 2026 period. This funding will facilitate the progression of important projects and enable...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Relief Schemes (2 May 2024)

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (2 May 2024)

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP),...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Contracts (2 May 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for the management of gross voted expenditure and the annual estimates process, general sanctioning powers in relation to expenditure and policy matters relating to the appraisal, review and evaluation of expenditure. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral...