Results 14,061-14,080 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The State has no intention to exploit anybody for their services or work. We do not. If the Deputy or any group have concerns in this regard they know all the mechanisms and options that are open to them. I had hoped that Deputy Barry's views on the job market would also acknowledge the latest unemployment figures, which have come from the CSO today, that show the unemployment rate is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Because of changes we have seen in Dublin and some of the other larger cities I absolutely understand that those people who work in our public services, and especially during the early part of their careers, are facing challenges around affordability for rent or mortgage payments. I can see this in many parts of the country and I can see it happening in Dublin. I shall outline our response...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Two different elements are at play. I will publish the legislation on Thursday. There will be a Government meeting that morning, to which I will bring legislation in order to deliver what the Deputy mentioned. I hope and anticipate that it will be agreed by the Government and published that day. Depending on whether the Business Committee makes time available, I expect the legislation to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a different matter than how the Deputy's written question was interpreted. The written question refers to the supplementary pension, which I took to refer to the future of auto-enrolment. Clearly, the Deputy-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the matter-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: No, I will answer the question the Deputy has just raised. Her previous question was on the abolition of the retirement age for people who worked in our public services.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. The Deputy's current question is on the principle of abatement and why it is the case that someone who avails of the interim arrangements returns on the minimum point on the salary scale, which gives the appearance of his or her weekly or monthly income being below what it was. We now have a well-established principle in our public services that, if a retiree is rehired, he or she...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy spoke about retaining experienced staff. Thankfully, people are staying healthy for longer and many want to work for longer. People also find themselves having to support families now in a way that previous generations did not. The Deputy asked for a plan. We have one. It is in the legislation that I will bring to the Government meeting on Thursday. Once passed, it will...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Community Sector High Level Forum (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: An issue that has been under discussion by the community sector high level forum relates to CE supervisors and assistant supervisors, who have been seeking, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a Labour Court recommendation. The group met in April 2017. My Department outlined its intention to conduct a detailed scoping exercise. A meeting of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Community Sector High Level Forum (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The difficulty we have with this is the massive costs relating to it that we outlined in response to the Private Members' motion from the Deputy's party. I have shared and indicated in the Dáil before that we estimate the potential cost to the State of this as being between €188 million and €347 million per annum. This is in addition to the call for the Exchequer to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Community Sector High Level Forum (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not know what the difficulty is with the publication of minutes from the previous forum meetings. I will follow up on that. We have not been able to reach agreement on the matter because, while the Deputy is speaking strongly about those who are especially affected by this, if the State were to agree to funding pensions for organisations to which it has contributed but which are not of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Measures (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 36 together. As the House is aware I am obliged under legislation to: 1. review the operation and effectiveness of the FEMPI legislation, having regard to the overall economic conditions in the State and national competitiveness; and 2. consider whether the relevant Acts continue to be necessary, having regard to amongst other things the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Prevention Measures (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There are a number of watercourses including the river Erne that flow between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Office of Public Works (OPW) has a long-standing working relationship with the Department of Infrastructure, Rivers (Dfl Rivers) which is the competent authority for the implementation of the ‘EU Floods Directive’ in Northern Ireland. In 2009, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In my role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at a Departmental level. Decisions on how and where those allocations are invested by Departments are a matter, in the first instance, for my ministerial colleagues. The ten-year National...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Economic Policy (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As outlined in the Summer Economic Statement published last month, the Government is determined to ensure that the budgetary strategy is based on steady increases in public expenditure underpinned by stable and predictable tax revenues. To deliver on this objective it is essential that expenditure increases to deliver improvements in services are affordable and sustainable over the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Measures (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I have prioritised the resourcing of our health system. Last year the Budget for the health sector was increased by almost 3.6% bringing the total funding to a record level of €15.3bn. In 2016 Ireland ranked sixth highest in terms of healthcare spend per capita out of all OECD countries. There has also been a significant...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Measures (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There have been no discussions within my Department on the east west link road and rural roads in general. I understand the Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport has responded to the Deputy on this issue in PQ 24501 on 12 June 2018.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Summer Economic Statement (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Planning for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU poses a significant challenge, particularly given that the precise nature of the relationship that will exist between the UK and the EU is yet to be agreed. The impact of Brexit will depend on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations. While this poses challenges in planning our response, it is important to note that Ireland’s economy is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Insurance Coverage (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government’s strategy for flood insurance is  in return to its investment on flood defence schemes, households and businesses should be able to access flood insurance. While the Office of Public Works has no responsibility for oversight or regulation of the insurance industry in relation to flood risk insurance, or to insurance matters generally, the Office of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I and my Department are fully committed to maintaining the well-established dialogue with the Alliance of Retired Public Servants. Through ongoing recourse to that dialogue process, I believe that retired public servants and their representatives can be confident that their pension concerns will receive full and proper consideration as they have done in the past. The interests and...