Results 7,281-7,300 of 33,289 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I wish to correct a point I had made to Deputy Calleary. I should have said "when the agreement is due to expire" as opposed to "when the current agreement has expired". The FEMPI measures were enacted by the Oireachtas and remain in place until their repeal. Under section 12 of the FEMPI Act 2013, I am obliged to review and report to the Houses of the Oireachtas on the operation,...
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I did answer Deputy Boyd Barrett’s question. I laid out very clearly the reasons why I believe the maintenance of the legislation is needed.
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I outlined the reasons for that very clearly and I am sure I will be debating them with the Deputy later on and I believe also on Friday. The full cost of repealing all the FEMPI measures is €2.2 billion. The challenge for me is that if I consider the issues the Deputy raises regularly with me - the need for housing, for more investment in our health services, bringing more people...
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: -----while meeting all of the needs that the Deputy raises regularly with me because he is right to raise those issues.
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I have outlined the rationale for this. I have always made very clear my appreciation for the huge contribution the public service has made to our country at a time of great difficulty but amidst the anger the Deputy has articulated let us also acknowledge two other points about what is happening in our public services, first, over the past two years we have over 18,000 more public servants,...
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: -----which are needed and which have been accepted by the majority of unions in our State.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 25, 29, 39 and 53 togther. I have already touched on some of the points regarding the justification for renewal of the legislation. I will not read the text of my reply again because the Deputy is already familiar with it, and I will not waste his time and the time of those in the Gallery by not responding to the questions. On the particular point...
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy accused me of acting in bad faith. If I stood up in the House and said the negotiations and discussions were not on the way he would condemn me for that, as he has done in the past. I am now confirming that the discussions began yesterday. The Deputy used a crucial phrase in saying that the embargo was gone. We now have the ability to hire more public servants to take on...
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: Now, through the Lansdowne Road agreement, we will honour the agreement we have with them. As I said, we began discussions with representatives of teachers yesterday.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Shortall for her questions. In response to her first question on whether I am aware of the potential for legal action, of course it is always open to any group within society to challenge any piece of legislation introduced by the State. Deputy Shortall put a direct question to me, asking whether I am acting in a manner consistent with the legal advice I have received. The...
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I do not want that to happen. On the third point, I am aware of people whom we want to work in the public service who are going abroad.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I want them to be able to stay at home.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: Nobody is being blackguarded by this Government. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I dealt with some of the Luas issues. I have dealt with many industrial relations matters. I have always recognised the right of people to be outside collective agreements and their democratic right to ballot on any agreement that is put to them. It is for union members to make a decision on...
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: What is cynical is putting words in my mouth that I never said. I never said that anybody who voted for the Lansdowne Road agreement was voting for FEMPI.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: No. Deputy Murphy is putting words in my mouth. I can see the Deputy has already acknowledged that he is wrong.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: What I said is that those people who voted for the Lansdowne Road agreement simply voted for that agreement.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: I did not make any reference to FEMPI.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: In relation to the latter point, Deputy Murphy put to me his concerns regarding the process being anti-democratic. What would be anti-democratic is a failure to take account of the fact that the majority of unions have voted for the agreement. That is what I have done.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: What the Deputy has put to me is how we make use of the benefits of a recovery that he alleged would never happen.
- Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (6 Jul 2016)
Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Paul Murphy said in the House on a number of occasions that the very kind of change in the economy that is enabling this would never happen, and because it is now happening, we are in a position to hire 18,000 more public servants-----