Results 13,881-13,900 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Other Questions: Office of the Ombudsman Status (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy should not quote at Question Time.

Other Questions: Office of the Ombudsman Status (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: According to the Deputy, I must buckle an awful lot.

Other Questions: Office of the Ombudsman Status (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I do not think so. I have taken great care in dealing with the issue. This is an area in which I have an open mind. The Deputy is correct. It may well be appropriate to include it within the remit of the Ombudsman. I have engaged with every Minister on the extension of the Ombudsman's remit. This is the biggest extension of the Ombudsman's remit taken since 1970 when the office was...

Other Questions: Office of the Ombudsman Status (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: It is because the reports of the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention which I am sure the Deputy has read call for immediate action to deal with complaints within the prison system. To put it bluntly, writing to the Ombudsman, causing reports to be made and involving inspectors, is a long-term process. What is recommended is the immediacy of a complaints system to deal with...

Other Questions: Croke Park Agreement Issues (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The public service or Croke Park agreement negotiated by the previous Government is stated to be for the period from 2010 to 2014. The agreement requires staff co-operation with productivity, cost extraction and reform measures in the public service. The Government has reaffirmed the key commitments under the public service agreement on pay rates and job security for serving public...

Other Questions: Croke Park Agreement Issues (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: There is no date in the agreement.

Other Questions: Croke Park Agreement Issues (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy asked a profound and important question. The Croke Park agreement, which I acknowledge was negotiated by the preceding Government, has made a very substantial contribution to the transformation agenda in the public service, allowing us to downsize and reduce the pay bill in the terms I talked about and in industrial peace, which is extremely important and valuable in itself. If...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information Legislation (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: Securing greater public access to official information has a critical role to play in strengthening the openness, transparency and accountability of the Irish administrative and political system. The reform of the freedom of information legislation and its extension to all public bodies is therefore a central pillar of this Government’s political reform agenda. In its July decision on...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information Legislation (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I look forward to getting the views of the committee, of which both Deputies opposite are members. Separate legislation on the register of lobbying is mentioned in the article in The Irish Times instanced by the Deputy. It, too, is groundbreaking legislation and will be important. We have to see the entire suite of legislation as a new reform architecture. The last time my party was in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Procurement Service Framework Agreements (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: In light of the need to accelerate the reform agenda, late last year my Department published the Public Service Reform Plan. This plan identified procurement reform as a key instrument that can assist the public service to deliver services in an efficient manner. The National Procurement Service (NPS) has put in place a number of national arrangements designed to secure better value for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Properties (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 30 together. The property portfolio of the State covers lands and buildings owned or leased by a wide variety of organisations, including local authorities, organisations such as the Health Services Executive and non-commercial State bodies such as the Industrial Development Authority and SFADCo. It would be necessary for the Deputy to obtain the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Grades Review (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: Under the Public Service Reform Plan my Department is reviewing the grading structure of the Civil Service. The Review will examine the number and distribution of management grades across the Civil Service, the percentage of the pay bill accounted for by such grades and taking account of organisational needs and best practice, assess the scope to reduce the number of management grades. In...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Performance Management and Development System (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: My Department is engaged in the ongoing review and reform of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) in the Civil Service. A major external review of PMDS was carried out in 2005 by Mercer Human Resource Consulting (Mercer). Using best practice in the review and design of performance management systems, the Review of PMDS was a comprehensive evaluation that provided...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Review (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Government is making good progress on achieving all of our targets and priorities, as set out in the Programme for Government. We are bringing public expenditure back to sustainable levels and driving forward the public service reform agenda to ensure that efficiencies and reformed work practices play a full part in contributing to the overall budgetary consolidation effort. As part of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Licence Sale (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, I announced on 4th April 2012 that the Government has decided to hold a competition for the next National Lottery licence and that the licence will be for a 20 year period. In July, my Department published a Request for Tenders (RFT) for Financial and Commercial Advice to the Department in relation to the next National Lottery Licence. The process of evaluating the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, the Special Civil Service Incentive Career Break Scheme was introduced as a once-off measure that was included in the Supplementary Budget on 7 April, 2009. A copy of the relevant Circular, 13/2009, can be viewed at the following link: It is clear from the Circular that an officer who took a career break under this Scheme may have to wait up to 12 months...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Legal Costs (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The expected total legal costs to be incurred by my Department in 2012 are estimated to be in the region of €88,600.00 In order to reduce the costs incurred where possible legal advice is sourced through the Attorney General’s office and the Chief State Solicitors Office. The Deputy may also be interested in the fact that officials in my Department are undertaking a review...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware we are currently going through very challenging economic and fiscal conditions. During this period officials in my Department are rigorously monitoring all current and capital spending on a month by month basis to identify potential overruns. The end-September, 2012, issues figures indicate that there are some pressures, most notably in the Social Protection and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Estimates Publication (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014, published in December 2011, introduced a range of reforms to the processes for settling the annual Estimates of expenditure. In particular I introduced a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), with fixed multi-annual current expenditure ceilings clearly set out for each Ministerial Vote Group. The expenditure ceilings introduce greater...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Allowances Review (10 Oct 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 23 and 41 together. The immediate savings arising from the recently announced reforms in 2012 are expected to be in the order of €3.5 million. Of this amount, Government Departments identified savings of some €1.5 million, the majority of which is related to the abolition of qualification allowances in Education. Further to this, the...