Results 12,701-12,720 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 58 together. The latest information from across the public service indicates that 7,464 people have applied to retire in the first two months of the year. The sectorial breakdown of applications is health, 2,567; education, 2,058; Civil Service, 1,236; local authority, 931; defence, 362; and Garda, 310. This gives a total of 7,464. When public service...

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: A number of questions were asked. I appreciate the Deputy's general concern on the matter. The exit at the end of this month is of the order of 3% of the public service. It is one of which we have had much notice and a lot of strategic planning has been ongoing. I cannot guarantee that there will not be a glitch because it will be the area in which we least expected a problem to arise....

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: It is not incentivised.

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I will explain it again.

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I will answer the last question first. The mathematics of it is that we are downsizing. It is a falsehood to claim that, after reducing the full quantum, one must add everyone back again. The idea is to do things better and more efficiently and to change work practices. This is the maths of it from the Government's perspective. We have been involved in planning this process for each...

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: Is that a question?

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: That was more a speech than a question but I will deal with the two points raised. On Deputy Fleming's questions, the workforce planning teams became transition teams and were augmented-----

Public Sector Staff (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: No, it was the critical final phase when the numbers were clear. As the Taoiseach rightly felt, we needed an even more proactive engagement and the workforce planning teams that had been established in every sector became transition teams and brought in additional expertise to ensure, as best we could, everything was running smoothly. We may face problems but I hope we do not because we...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: My announcement last week contained the details of the breadth and timescale of the Government's plans to dispose of certain non-strategic State assets. We have agreed with the troika on the sale of assets up to a value of €3 billion based on the guiding principles that there will be no fire sales, integral transmissions and distribution systems will be retained in State ownership and full...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I made the announcement as soon as I could after the Cabinet made its decisions. I readily agreed to have an early debate in the House. I very much welcome an open debate on all these matters and I believe one is scheduled for next week. I entirely agree with the Deputy on learning from the past. The method of sale of Eircom was not in the public interest because it sold off a strategic...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I do not agree with the Deputy. She is simply wrong on the forestry side. We have an ambitious forestry programme. We will be growing more trees. We are suggesting that we sell off some of the crop. Trees will grow again and the idea is that one harvests trees and sells them but one keeps the land. The suggestion is like suggesting to a farmer that he should not sell the crop. Deputy...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has twice mentioned that I am dressing up the pro-jobs issue. This is a pro-jobs issue. After long-term negotiations we have changed the view of the troika to allow one third of the total assets to be used to create new jobs. This is a significant advance in an economy starved of capital for productive purposes.

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy will understand that I do not propose to indicate to the market how much I expect to raise from the sale of the individual assets in the programme of State asset disposals that I announced. However, I assure the House that the sales will be transacted via an open, transparent and competitive process. On foot of my announcement, work is progressing on plans for the disposals I have...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for his questions. The Deputy does not expect me to quantify the value I expect from each item or company we put up for sale. However, I wish to give as much detail as I can to the Deputy. Subsequent to the decision made by the Government last September we set up two parallel processes. The first was to establish what regulatory and other difficulties were presented by...

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: Yes, in NewERA and they would have had expertise with them.

Sale of State Assets (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy is quite disparaging of the qualities available to the NTMA. Based on the amount of money we are paying those working in the NTMA, I sincerely hope they are not run of the mill civil servants. They are individuals who are highly qualified for treasury management, to run our national debt process and to involve themselves in a range of the strategic funding issues that affect the...

Ministerial Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decided on taking office in March 2011 to reduce the salaries of An Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Ministers with immediate effect. The reductions were implemented on a voluntary basis pending the passage of the necessary legislation giving statutory effect to the reductions. Section 6(c) of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Amendment) Act, 2011 provides...

Ministerial Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I would like to respond to the three specific points that have rightly been made by the Deputy. I will not bring in extraneous matters or claim other things. I heard about the laundry issue on the radio. I had never heard of it before then. Nobody in the Cabinet had ever heard of it. I cannot find anybody who has ever claimed it, or even heard of it. I have no idea where it came from.

Ministerial Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: No, as far as I am aware. It is not on any list that I have. I have no idea where it came from. The day it came up, I specifically asked whether anybody had ever claimed it, or heard of it. Nobody in the Cabinet of this Government had heard of it or claimed it.

Ministerial Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)

Brendan Howlin: As far as I am concerned, it does not exist. It is one of these interesting things that make for a good headline. The Deputy also asked about the dual abode allowance. Her colleagues who come from outside Dublin claim an overnight allowance. Ministers are not entitled to that. When our colleagues who are Ministers and Ministers of State come to Leinster House they pay their hotel bills...