Results 11,641-11,660 of 32,892 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department was established in 2011. Therefore, this reply covers the period since then. The following tables reflect the amount spent by the Department and the bodies under its aegis on public relations services in the period in question: Name of Service Provider Amount Spent € Purpose Body Mindshare Media Ireland Ltd.(2017) €145,441.83...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Since Q4 2013 Public Service numbers have increased by nearly 30,000. Over 20,000 of those were recruited in the Health and Education sectors. Adjusting for transfers of functions between Departments, both the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills have higher staffing levels now than in 2008. Furthermore there has been a shift from administrative staff to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Road Projects Status (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I refer to the reply by the Taoiseach to PQ 51982 on 5 December last. Under the Fresh Start Agreement concluded in 2015 between the British and Irish Governments and the main political parties in the North, the Irish Government reaffirmed its existing commitment to providing funding of £50 million for the A5 Western Transport Corridor serving the North West and also committed an...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service Renewal Plan (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Civil Service Renewal Plan was published on 30 October 2014. The plan forms part of the Government’s wider public service reform programme. The Plan sets out a vision and 3 year action plan to achieve it. It outlines 25 practical actions that will create a more unified, professional, responsive, open and accountable Civil Service that can provide a world-class service to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Public pay and pension restoration by Departments and public bodies has been and will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA): www.per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/Public-Service-Stability-A greement-2013-2018.pdf. and the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA): www.per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/LRA-extension.pdf. Pay increases under the LRAwere...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Review (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, a new phase for public service reform was set out in Our Public Service 2020,which was published earlier this week. Our Public Service 2020aims to deliver better outcomes for the public, to support innovation and collaboration and to build public service organisations that are resilient and agile. There are 18 actions in the framework which is built on three key...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Retirements (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As this is a voluntary measure for existing public servants with a compulsory retirement age of 65, giving them the option to work until 70, it provides an ongoing opportunity to public servants to exercise their retirement option anytime from age 65 to age 70. This will be influenced by the personal circumstances of each individual, which may be subject to ongoing consideration as those...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Expenditure Reviews (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Responsibility for policy decisions in this area are the responsibility of the Minister for Health. The Deputy is referring to a paper, titled ‘Disability and Special Education Related Expenditure’, which was prepared by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service in the context of the Spending Review 2017 and was published in October. This was a cross-vote...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As set out in the Fiscal Monitor for November, published by the Department of Finance, net voted expenditure was €788 million or 1.9% below profile. However, this aggregate underspend versus profile has been impacted by almost €0.4 billion by certain timing issues in relation to the Local Government Fund. Current expenditure in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Primary Medical Certificates Eligibility (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme provides relief from VAT and VRT on the purchase of an adapted car for transport of a person with specific severe and permanent physical disabilities, payment of a fuel grant, and an exemption from Motor Tax. To qualify for the Scheme an applicant must be in possession of a Primary Medical Certificate. To qualify for a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Costs (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 64 together. As I informed the Deputy in the reply to PQ 50963/17 on 29 November 2017 Revenue does not have information to enable it provide an accurate forecast of the future growth of electric and hybrid vehicles. As such it is not possible to determine the cost of extending the VRT rebate to electric and hybrid vehicles until 2019 or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Community Banking (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 67 together. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department and the Department of Community and Rural Development, are responsible for fulfilling the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment to "thoroughly investigate the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions". Local...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As a consumption tax, VAT is a tax that is paid by the final consumer on the purchase of a good or service. Where a gift voucher is used by a consumer as consideration in respect of or in relation to the purchase of a good or service, VAT becomes chargeable on that purchase at the rate applicable for the particular good or service supplied, which could be 0%, 9%, 23%, or no VAT if an...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Data (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that Revenue publishes a monthly update on the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme on the Revenue website.  The most recent update to 30 November 2017 in respect of applications, both approved and pending, and claims made can be found at: Revenue’s published statistics at 30 November 2017 show the number of applications received at 11,985 and the number of approved applications...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Programme (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware the Oireachtas, when enacting legislation, in many instances provides a discretion to the relevant Minister in respect of the appropriate time to commence an Act, or certain provisions of an Act. It was not possible to provide the details for all legislative provisions on the Statute Book. However I set out in the table details of legislative provisions passed by...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Eligibility (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that while the details supplied indicate that the property in question was a new building which was not used as a dwelling prior to 19 July 2016, it is not clear if it was suitable for use as a dwelling prior to that date. If the property was suitable for use as a dwelling prior to the relevant date, it will not qualify under the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme. I...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legal Proceedings (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The proceedings to which you refer, are currently the subject of an appeal to the Court of Appeal by the Plaintiff and are listed before the President of the Court of Appeal on 14 December 2017 to fix a date for the hearing of the appeal. As these proceedings are before the Courts at present, I cannot comment on same.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stamp Duty (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I take it the Deputy is referring to the stamp duty levies applying to the assets of funded pension arrangements introduced in 2011 to pay for the Jobs Initiative, the chargeable persons for which are the trustees of pension schemes and others responsible for the management of pension fund assets. The stamp duty levy on pension schemes was introduced in the wake of the financial crash...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Data (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 to 80, inclusive, together. As I stated in my reply to PQ number 74 of 30/11/17, the Summer Economic Statement (SES) 2016 set out estimates of gross and net fiscal space over the forecast horizon. SES 2016 also presented an indicative split between expenditure and taxation uses of these amounts as well as the provision for contributions...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Claims Agency Data (14 Dec 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the NTMA is designated as the State Claims Agency (SCA) when performing the claims management and risk management functions designated to it under the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990, as amended. In answer to the Deputy's question, I refer to material provided by the SCA and which is outlined in the tables. The material provided by the SCA covers...