Results 8,321-8,340 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Mattie McGrath is commenting on figures that he has not seen.

Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister, Deputy Harris, will prepare a proposal, on which my own Department will engage, and when we have concluded an analysis of value for money and of what is the right thing for children in our country for the next 50 years, a proposal will be taken to Cabinet at which a decision will be made.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: FEMPI Legislation (1 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am obliged under the legislation to undertake an Annual Review of the operation and effectiveness of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts (FEMPI) which is laid before the Oireachtas by the end of June each year. In my last review of the necessity for the continuing application of the measures provided for under the Acts, my decision was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Planning Framework (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a very close alignment between the new national planning framework and the current review of the capital plan which will be strongly reflected in the Government's capital investment plans arising from the review and decision-making on spatial planning.  Indeed, the Taoiseach, in his recent address to the Institute of European Affairs...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Planning Framework (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In respect of the first of the Deputy's two questions, out of the €5 billion of additional resources, approximately €2.2 billion to €2.3 billion was allocated to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for the public housing programme he announced before Christmas. Approximately €2.4 billion to €2.5 billion is currently unallocated and that will be dealt with in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Planning Framework (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Let us be clear about the scale of the investment of the EIB in Ireland. My understanding is that it has now made funding available to every university in our country and it has made funding available to develop projects like Luas cross-city and the Grangegorman campus of the Dublin Institute of Technology. It has put investment in place to support needed projects in our county.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Planning Framework (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On the Deputy's question on the role of public private partnerships, I am very willing to engage in a discussion on the role of PPPs but let us be clear that a public private partnership builds up a liability that is then contingent on the State balance sheet. It is funding and a loan that at some point will need to be repaid. If the Deputy needs evidence of the challenge that can pose, he...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Consultation Process (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Of course it is not true to say that nothing has happened. That is actually wrong.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Consultation Process (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government is very supportive of the Oireachtas having an enhanced input into discussions on budgetary priorities. It is for this reason that the programme for Government contains a commitment to establish a parliamentary budget office following on from the recommendations of very report to which Deputy Ryan referred. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission met with officials...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Consultation Process (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department generally has differences with every Government Department it deals with; that is what it is there for. It is there to make sure that there is consistency in respect of staffing and spending decisions. The view of my Department was that the appropriate level for this role was principal officer. The very reason for that was that the equivalent position within the Irish Fiscal...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Consultation Process (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am sure buried somewhere in Deputy Ryan's statement is an acknowledgement of the fact that I have agreed to this post being at the level that was requested. It was appropriate that the matter went through scrutiny and debate. The reason for that was that when the organisation is established, I will then be asked by the House why it is costing a certain amount and has a particular grade of...

Other Questions: Budget Measures (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We are well aware of the importance of a well-functioning public service and how crucial it is to the smooth operation of the economy. Public service reform was a central element of the response to the challenges of recent years and remains an essential part of building for the future. Since the first public service reform plan was published in 2011, a comprehensive programme of reform has...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes", in terms of the public sector pay commission and its terms of reference. The Deputy referred to new entrants, an issue which was also recognised in the supply and confidence agreement between the Government and Fianna Fáil. It is considering the matter and will issue its observations in the coming months. On the broader issue and the...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to be clear about one of the reasons for the difference in costs and wages. Under the agreement that we now have, the norm for many of the more recent entrants is that, until they get to a much later part of their career, they will be two salary points behind those who joined pre-2011. This means that the entire cost of equalising pay scales will be significant. At the...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The timeframe that has been set and agreed by Mr. Duffy and the Public Pay Commission is that their work will report across the second quarter, which refers to April, May and June. I hope that they meet that timeline. When they publish their report, the Government and representatives of public service employees will then need a period of time to digest the report and comment on it because I...

Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I indicated my answer to this question in reply to an earlier question. To address some of the additional points raised, the expenditure figures for each Department are tracked constantly by my Department. We have now allocated how we expect the expenditure ceilings to be realised per quarter for 2017. We have laid out what the Revised Estimates Volume profile for each Department will be...

Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: All my colleagues are well aware of the need to stay within the figures I have outlined to the Deputy. It is fair to say that certain Departments are under more policy pressure than others. I spend a considerable amount of time working the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, who has to manage an array of different matters relating to his Department. All of my colleagues are aware of...

Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We always do our best to be fair to all the different interests that are raised with us. If we consider the question Deputy Calleary put to me a moment ago, the amount of funding for wages that was removed during the period of crisis from our civil and public servants, at €1.4 billion, is exceptionally large. At €1.4 billion, the income removed from civil and public servants...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister for Finance is taking the lead role in respect of the State's shareholding in the banking system. I am aware of the report to which the Deputy refers, which I have read and considered. Notwithstanding the proposal contained in the report, under EU fiscal rules, the proceeds of any such sale may not be used to fund increased expenditure, irrespective of whether such expenditure...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister for Finance is making a case with regard to how we can maximise capital expenditure. Under the capital plan, which we discussed earlier, the Government plans to increase capital investment in the years ahead. Capital investment increased this year by more than €300 million or 14% compared to 2016. It is planned to increase it further every year until 2021-2022 when it...