Results 11,741-11,760 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I look forward to a detailed discussion of these issues on Committee Stage. I hope to introduce Second Stage next week and to get through it quickly so we can have a more protracted Committee Stage debate to tease out the details. The only provision in the published Bill that would impact on already retired public servants is the possibility of changing from a linkage to the salary...

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The scheme refers to all public servants. Civil servants, non-commercial semi-State employees, members of the Garda Síochána, the Army, the Oireachtas and the Judiciary will be encompassed within the single pension scheme.

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I have no plans to disband the top level appointments committee, TLAC. In April of this year the Government decided the membership of TLAC would be changed to include a majority of outside members. Heretofore the majority of the membership comprised serving civil servants. I was of the view this should be changed immediately and it was included in the programme for Government. The new...

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I am intrigued at the Deputy's embracing of reform after spending the past 11 years in government.

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I do not disagree with what the Deputy has suggested. There is merit, and I availed of it, in being able to headhunt somebody to lead my own Department that I thought would be good at the job. I should not make personal mention of that person but the Government made a wise choice. The TLAC process will have to be looked at very carefully. I would be willing to discuss it with anybody who...

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Secretary General to the Government is ex officio a member.

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The TLAC arrangement to which I referred was done in 1987.

Public Service Appointments (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: -----that Mr. Dermot McCarthy or anybody else currently had anything to do with the terms determined in 1987.

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 64 together. I do not accept that the value of benefits payable to teachers in the proposed single public service pension scheme will exceed the value of employee contributions nor do I accept that the scheme will in some instances be less valuable to ordinary teachers than no pension provision whatsoever. It is true that the teacher unions have voiced...

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Figures are figures. If one counts the so-called pension levy which all workers, some of whom who do not have a pension entitlement, are paying as a contribution to one's pension the sums are different from the actual contribution to one's pension, which will be 6.5% under the new regime. I have indicated to them from my perspective that I do not regard the so-called pension levy to be a...

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: But they will argue-----

Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: It is not for me to make that determination, that is for my colleague, the Minister for Finance. However, I can give the Deputy my views on the matter. If the Deputy is asking when we will be out of the economic mess, I do not know. We have a trajectory to get a balanced budget, a deficit of 3% by 2015. The Government is determined to achieve that and we will achieve it. We have no...

Departmental Audit Unit (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 67 together. There are no plans to establish a unit of this nature within my Department. The Comptroller and Auditor General is an independent constitutional officer with a distinct role in accounting for the effective and efficient use of public funds. The role of the Comptroller and Auditor General is to control, on behalf of the State, all...

Departmental Audit Unit (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for tabling the question and for his investigative work. Deputy Keating approached me directly about the question and I asked my Department for a briefing because I was not aware of the audit function of the city of Toronto. I have a detailed briefing on the auditor general and the role of his office. I would be happy to discuss that. The Deputy might consider it in the...

Written Answers — Civil Service Staff: Civil Service Staff (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As part of the reform of the public service, the Government is committed to the introduction of new skills and talent across all Departments. In the Programme for Government we have said that appointments at Principal Officer level and above will be open to external competition. Since the introduction of the moratorium on recruitment and promotion in March 2009 no general open recruitment...

Written Answers — Sale of State Assets: Sale of State Assets (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the EU/IMF Programme of financial support for Ireland, the Government is committed to an ambitious programme of asset disposals, based on the Programme for Government and the report of the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities. The Programme for Government includes a target of €2bn to be raised from the sale of non-strategic State assets. The Government has already decided...

Written Answers — Public Sector Pay: Public Sector Pay (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I refer to my reply to Question No. 20298/11 of 14 July 2011.

Written Answers — Sale of State Assets: Sale of State Assets (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the EU/IMF Programme of financial support for Ireland, the Government is committed to considering options for an ambitious programme of asset disposals, based on the Programme for Government and the report of the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, and to preparing a draft programme of asset disposals in this context to be discussed with the Troika in advance of taking final...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 206 and 208 together. Ensuring a more flexible and responsive public service is a key element of the Government's reform programme. Measures to increase staff mobility and to ensure that resources are allocated to priority areas in a timely and strategic manner will form part of the reform programme implementation plan, which is currently being developed...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: My Department estimates that the average public service pension is around €20,000 and would not be affected by the cap proposed by the Deputy. Indeed, fewer than 1 in 100 public service pensioners has a public service pension in excess of €60,000. As the Deputy may know, public service pensions have been reduced already, under provisions introduced by the Financial Emergency Measures in...