Results 7,021-7,040 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been very clear about how we speak to trade unions that are outside the Lansdowne Road agreement. The inflammatory language used by Deputy Cullinane-----

Other Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: -----is the type of language that makes these matters more difficult to resolve. I hope the approach of the House will be to examine how we can resolve these issues. In light of the support the Deputy expressed for the Lansdowne Road agreement, perhaps he will also acknowledge its benefits. What I and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, have said is that we must...

Other Questions: Programme for Government (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The programme for a partnership Government sets out the ambition to build a strong economy and deliver a fair society. The programme identifies a number of policy challenges and for each of these challenges a clear, unambiguous, high-level ambition is also identified. Examples of these ambitions include meeting the target of building 25,000 new homes needed every year by 2020; creating...

Other Questions: Programme for Government (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I have already answered Deputy Howlin's question but I am happy to repeat my answer, namely, that I will be reviewing the Estimates published for 2016 in light of where we stand now and will bring a recommendation to Government in that regard. As soon as I have Government support and agreement on the Estimates for this year, I will bring them before the Dáil. I am also conscious that...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Pay issues for public servants are currently determined within the constraints set by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Acts of 2009 to 2015 while the industrial relations environment is managed under the terms of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018, the Lansdowne Road agreement. The programme for Government contains a strong commitment to the...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not. The Deputy is wrong.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Will Deputy Calleary please repeat his first question?

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: On the timeline, I will begin discussions with the stakeholders of the Lansdowne Road agreement in regard to the public service pay commission in the coming weeks. When the commission will be set up will depend on the input I get from stakeholders and I will keep the Deputy apprised of that. I do not wish to prejudge what people may say on that. In regard to engagement with pensioners...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the percentage increase was largest for those on low and middle incomes.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Those on higher incomes received a lower percentage increase than those on low incomes.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Cullinane's approach is clear. When I attempt to answer a question-----

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not want to do Deputy Howlin a disservice, but when I give Deputy Cullinane an answer that is different from what he wants, he does not want to hear it. I have already covered Deputy Howlin's question about pensions. I will not prejudge negotiations we might have in the future as to where benefits will go but we have an agreement in place until 2018. I have not set aside additional...

Other Questions: Lobbying Data (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The first two reporting deadlines for those who have lobbied designated public officials have now passed. Those who undertook any lobbying since 1 September 2015 were required to register and submit returns of their lobbying activity on the online register. I am very pleased with the level of compliance achieved in these initial return periods. There are currently more than 1,300...

Other Questions: Lobbying Data (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: My objective is to commence the review of the Act in September this year and to finalise it by February 2017. The reason we built in a review period was to deal with the kind of issues to which the Deputy referred.

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, significant advances were made in this area in 2014 when a radically revised system for State board appointments was introduced with the following key principles at its core: the promotion of wider access to opportunities on State boards; the establishment of detailed and comprehensive criteria for those roles; and the introduction of transparent and rigorous...

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I expect that all State boards covered by this Act will now be subject to its provisions. The first example of the new process will happen soon in the case of the Department of Health, where competent individuals will be put into important roles as chairpersons of State organisations in a transparent manner.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The current Capital Plan "Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021", published last September, announced an Exchequer capital spend of €27 billion over a six year period. Supplementing this Exchequer-funded investment with investment from the wider semi-state sector (€14.5 billion), and PPPs (€500 million), brings total state investment to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The Moratorium on the Recruitment in the Public Service no longer applies. It was formally brought to an end last year. In 2015, public service numbers increased by more than 8,500 and so far this year, public service numbers have increased by more than 2,000. It is important to note that the increases recorded in 2016 are largely a result of Budget-day decisions to provide funding for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: From the period 2009 to 2013 the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Acts introduced pay reduction measures. These measures, together with the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) implemented in January 2011, are estimated to have resulted in over €2.2bn in direct reductions in public service remuneration and pensions annually. The Government has now,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Strategic Infrastructure Provision (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: A strategic review of infrastructural requirements was undertaken by my Department as part of last year's capital review. This culminated in the publication in 2015 of 'Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021', which outlines a €42bn framework for infrastructural investment across Ireland. The Plan prioritises spending on what were considered to be the...