Results 11,701-11,720 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin
- Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (6 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I have no responsibility for this area. I am informed by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission that it will reply directly to the Deputy on the matter.
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (6 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: It has not been possible to collate the data as requested in the time available. I will however supply the data to the Deputy as soon as possible.
- Written Answers — National Lottery Funding: National Lottery Funding (6 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: The total allocation in the REV for 2011 for the subheads in the Health Votes (39 and 40) which are part-funded by Lottery proceeds is â¬13.3 million. As Lottery funding is treated as an item of non-tax revenue to the exchequer, it is not possible to indicate the amount or percentage of Lottery funding provided to any particular Vote or subhead. However, it is estimated that in 2011 total...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (6 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: The 2011 Estimate for my Vote includes the following provision for consultancy expenditure: Administrative Budget â¬7k Programme Consultancy Costs â¬75k At this point I do not envisage that the full allocation will be required but the final requirement cannot be predicted with reasonable certainty. I do not envisage that any of this provision will be attributed to contracts to identify...
- Ministerial Engagements (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: It is my intention to meet with the troika delegation during its fourth quarterly review along with my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and senior officials from both Departments.
- Ministerial Engagements (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I can confirm that the figure of â¬2 billion emerged from the negotiations between the two parties in the programme for Government. The IMF publicly called for State asset sales of â¬5 billion. That was the figure that confronted the Minister for Finance and myself when we opened discussions with the troika. The troika wanted to write a â¬5 billion figure into the last agreement, and we...
- Ministerial Engagements (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: The Deputy is right when he says the comprehensive review of expenditure is not completed. I am currently engaged in bilateral discussions and I do not want to pre-empt further questions which have yet to be reached. I want to find a mechanism that would allow a greater debate in the House on this matter. I will be bringing proposals to Government to ensure there is engagement on the...
- Public Service Contracts (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: Prior to the appointment of the former Secretary General to the post of Secretary General to the Government in January 2000, the then Government decided that the terms applicable to Secretaries General appointed under the Top Level Appointments Committee, TLAC, process would apply in his case. At the end of his term in December 2010, the then Government confirmed the application of those...
- Public Service Contracts (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: The Deputy likes to grand-stand. I am conscious that we are speaking here about an individual who has served this State well over a long period. Senior public servants have families. I am conscious we are speaking now about an identified individual. While the Deputy might say I should have known about the TLAC terms since 1987, I only learned of them when I became Minister. Many of the...
- Public Service Contracts (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: Deputy McDonald is not long enough in the House to know that I do not hide behind anything. That is not my form and I have never done so before. I answer questions up front and never make pretence or grandstand on issues. We need to change these arrangements in a way that is sustainable for the public purse. For example, I could spend moneys sending lawyers down to the Four Courts and...
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government is committed to the most ambitious programme of public service reform since the foundation of the State. This programme will take place in tandem with an equally significant programme of constitutional, political and institutional reform to ensure there is a fundamental change in democratic and public governance and a dramatic...
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy.
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. It is a daunting task. We are trying to reform a system that has built like Topsy since the 1920s. One of the most daunting aspects of the task is that there is no integration within the public service. Our ambition is to create an integrated public service with common pension and salary schemes and to rationalise various working hours. Some...
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I am afraid the matter of the group overseeing the amalgamation is outside my area of-----
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: -----responsibility, but I will pass on-----
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: -----the Deputy's profoundly felt views to the Minister, Deputy Hogan.
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: Ireland is committed under the EU-IMF programme to reducing the overall public service wage bill. Delivering this reduction will require continued implementation of the moratorium on recruitment with exceptions being limited to essential posts only and the utilisation of redeployment as the primary mechanism to fill posts that have been approved. In order to protect front line services, the...
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: Deputy Fleming has raised a number of important issues to which we must have regard. To put it in context, we are committed to downsizing the public service. There is no gainsaying this. The previous Government, supported by Deputy Fleming, signed up to a programme of reduction and we have put in place an enhanced production profile because, to be blunt, there is a â¬500 million gap in...
- Public Sector Reform (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: I would have to be asked a specific question on this as I do not have in my head the number of nurses who have moved under the Croke Park agreement. It is the framework and I have stated from the beginning the Government will live up to its side of it, the main features of this being no future wage cuts or compulsory redundancies, but on the other side is flexibility, including the ability...
- Public Sector Staff (11 Oct 2011)
Brendan Howlin: On the specific institution referred to by the Deputy I would say it is a matter for the board and management of the HSE to set staffing and services priorities in accordance with Government policy. It is part of the day-to-day function of the boards and management of all public bodies to assess, budget and plan for current and ongoing staffing requirements within existing resources. Any...