Results 11,641-11,660 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland was allocated a total of €901m in Structural Funding for the 2007-13 programming period, with €750m assigned to the Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) Objective. Ireland's National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) sets out the policy context through which the RCE allocation may be applied. This is implemented through three Operational...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The grades in the Civil/Public Service which may potentially attract a severance (or severance type) payment at termination, subject to certain conditions, are as follows: Secretaries General The lesser of:- (a) 6 months' salary, or(b) potential salary to age 65. County Managers The lesser of:- (a) 6 months' salary, or(b) potential salary to age 65. Ministerial Personal Staff The greater...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The only added years awarded in the Civil and Public Service to persons before reaching the standard pension age are to Secretaries General, County Managers, CEOs of non-commercial State Bodies and to staff in any grade who retire or are retired on health grounds before normal retirement age. There are no added years' arrangements which enable a person to retire on maximum superannuation...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: It is estimated that the imposition of a cap on pensions in the civil service, based on January 2011 data, would have resulted in an estimated saving of €43m if pensions were capped at €35,930. This takes no account of the tax and other statutory deductions foregone. Comparable data are not available for the public service as a whole.

Written Answers — Capital Expenditure: Capital Expenditure (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The details being sought by the Deputy are not held centrally in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This information is held by the relevant individual contracting authorities who are involved in capital expenditure. I will seek to compile this data on the Deputy's behalf but it will take some time before I can contact him further on this.

Written Answers — Bonus Payments: Bonus Payments (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Civil Service Staff Suggestion Scheme (INPUT) has not been operational on a centralised basis since 2003. Information on savings made in each Department was not collated centrally during the lifetime of the scheme. Innovation and business process improvement is now an established discipline within Government Departments. The management of change is also a well established process within...

Written Answers — Public Procurement: Public Procurement (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Guidelines from my Department require that public bodies conduct the public procurement function in a way that facilitates and does not place barriers to participation of small and medium enterprises. As one measure to achieve this, the guidance advises that the sub-dividing of procurement requirements into "lots" should be considered by contracting authorities where it would be appropriate...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the terms of the Civil Service Superannuation Schemes, retiring staff are entitled to a lump sum payment and a retirement pension which is based on their length of service and final pensionable remuneration. Further details regarding retirement benefits for civil servants are available at www.cspensions.gov.ie Retiring staff receive a retirement lump sum of 3/80ths of pensionable...

Written Answers — Equal Opportunities Employment: Equal Opportunities Employment (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The position in relation to opportunities for employment in the Public Service generally is limited by the recruitment and promotion moratorium which was announced on the 27th March 2009. The moratorium applies, with limited exceptions, to the civil service, local authorities, non-commercial state bodies, the Garda Síochána, the Permanent Defence Forces and to certain bodies established by...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The public service numbers as reported to my Department for end June 2011 are set out in the table. Public Service Serving Numbers for End June 2011 Functional Classification Whole Time Equivalent Civil Service* 37,204 Defence Sector 10,325 Education Sector 92,815 Health Sector 105,253 Justice Sector 14,567 Local Authorities 30,728 Non Commercial State Agencies 11,880 TOTAL 302,772...

Written Answers — Expenditure Reviews: Expenditure Reviews (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I would point out to the Deputy that the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure is a process involving input from all Departments and their agencies as well as work on cross cutting issues being carried out by my Department. These Departmental submissions are a central part of the pre-budget deliberations of the Government and it is envisaged that the reports submitted as part of the CRE...

Written Answers — Departmental Strategy Statements: Departmental Strategy Statements (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As specified under the Public Service Management Act 1997, my Department has submitted to me its draft Statement of Strategy for the period 2011-2014. The finalisation of the Statement of Strategy will reflect the key policy commitments of the Government including the emerging decisions in the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure currently underway. It is my intention to publish...

Written Answers — Public Procurement: Public Procurement (28 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: My Department and the National Procurement Service have been engaged with a number of State bodies which are critically involved in the engagement of legal services, with a view to pursuing reductions in overall costs through a number of measures including reducing fee levels and increasing competitive forces. My Department will shortly be reporting to me about the extent of reductions...

Written Answers — Departmental Records: Departmental Records (28 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: My Department views Cloud Computing as a major shift in the provision of ICT infrastructure, systems and services. Consequently, over time, it expects Cloud Computing to be a key part of the strategic future of ICT in the public service. To that end, my Department has been engaged in a programme of research with a very wide variety of ICT companies of all types and nature. This research...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (28 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: My Department was formally established on 6 July 2011 under the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 2011. Generally, information on the age of a candidate is not part of the candidate information that is collected when promotion competitions take place in the Civil Service. Selection for appointment to posts in the Civil Service (both internal and external) is governed by the Codes of Practice...

Written Answers — Public Service Staff: Public Service Staff (29 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Government plans to bring about a reduction of between 18,000 and 21,000 in overall public service numbers by 2014, relative to the end-2010 position, with a further 4,000 reduction in 2015, subject to there being no compulsory redundancies and to the protection of front line services. As outlined in the Government Programme, in order to protect front-line services, this reduction will...

Written Answers — Roads Funding: Roads Funding (29 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Government is currently finalising expenditure allocations as part of its Comprehensive Review of Expenditure. No decisions have been taken at this stage, but clearly there is a need to seek further savings in public expenditure. The purpose of the Review of Expenditure is to target those savings at waste and inefficiencies and maintain affordable levels of investment in public...

Written Answers — Education Funding: Education Funding (29 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The position regarding the funding allocation for Education for 2012 will be determined by Government in the context of the overall public sector Estimates and Budgetary process. A key element of this process will be the results of the Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure (CRE) undertaken by all Government Departments.

Written Answers — Public Procurement: Public Procurement (29 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the EU Public Procurement Directives, public contracts above certain threshold levels must be open to businesses from across the EU Member States. In the case of public works contracts (including construction-type contracts) the relevant threshold is €4.845 million. In the case of contracts below the threshold levels, the Treaty principles of openness, competition, transparency etc....

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (29 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question, each Department hold details in respect of board memberships in relation to boards that come under their aegis. Details of those appointed and their remuneration arrangements are held by the individual Departments. With regard to my own Department, the following tables contain details of board members and their remuneration. An Post National Lottery...