Results 14,601-14,620 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Dividend Income (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I have budgeted for receipts of €204m as Dividends from commercial State companies. While this represents a significant increase in the historically low dividend yield from commercial State companies relative to their current asset base, I believe it represents a reasonable expectation on behalf of the shareholders. My officials are working, in conjunction with NewEra, to finalise...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Regulatory Impact Assessments (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I refer to the Deputy's parliamentary question regarding the number of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA’s) that have been carried out by my Department. In the past twelve months my Department has completed one Regulatory Impact Assessment on the proposed Regulation of Lobbying Bill. This RIA is due to be submitted to Government shortly together with the General Scheme of the Bill....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The information sought by the Deputy is not recorded centrally in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for public contracts. Contracting authorities are currently only obliged to publish contract award notices on eTenders and the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) for those contracts whose values exceed the EU thresholds. The current EU threshold for public works contracts is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Bodies (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The radical streamlining of State Bodies was identified as a key deliverable of the Public Service Reform Plan which included 48 rationalisation measures to be implemented by the end of 2012, as well as a further 46 critical reviews to take place by the end of June 2012. On 31 October 2012, I updated my cabinet colleagues in relation to the agency rationalisation programme, which included...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The minimum service required to qualify for the minimum Officeholder's pension is 2 years in a qualifying office. The term 'qualifying office' refers to the offices of Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister, Minister of State, Attorney General, Ceann Comhairle, Leas Cheann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach, Leas-Chathaoirleach, and Leader of the Seanad. It should be noted that, under the Pensions Act...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy will be aware that I replied to a previous question on 18 September 2012 as follows: "The regular preparation and publication of actuarial assessments of public service pension costs is an important part of policy formulation and, in this regard, I believe that work should begin as soon as possible on a new actuarial assessment of public service pension costs, taking account of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Rural Social Scheme (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As part of the range of expenditure reforms introduced over the past year, Focused Policy Assessments (FPAs) have been introduced as a new format for conducting short, streamlined evaluations of particular aspects of public service configuration and delivery. FPAs are designed to complement the broader range of evaluation tools available within the public service, including Value-for-Money...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The original pension terms in respect of membership of the Houses of the Oireachtas are derived from the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938. While the terms were amended over the years, the most notable amendments took place in 1992 and these form the basis of the pension provisions - known generally as the "New Scheme" - applicable to the majority of current Oireachtas Members....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Action Plan for Jobs (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Government is responding to the challenge of the jobs crises in Ireland right across the public policy spectrum, as encapsulated first in the jobs initiative and now in the Action Plan on Jobs. The aim is to identify those actions each area of Government can take to improve and sustain job creation. In some areas this involves direct action and job creation, such as through the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies (16 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 381 and 382 together. The following is a list of the bodies, other than statutory bodies, that were partially funded by offices and agencies under the remit of my Department in 2012: Economic and Social Research Institute (Grant-in-Aid) 2,700,000 Institute of Public Administration (Grant-in-Aid) 2,750,000 For further information on bodies, other than...

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: All Deputies will agree the food industry is a critical part of our economic activity, as well as being critical to our export sector and to jobs. That is why we have such a high standard of oversight of food production in this country. It is the best, I would say, in the world. It is important to reiterate this is not a public health issue or relates to food safety but to food standards....

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: This was laid out in some detail yesterday by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney. I will give Deputy Martin the sequence again for clarity. The first samples were taken by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland as part of the snapshot surveys that it does periodically across all food production in the country. These were taken in mid-November and sent for...

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Following this process, all the initial samples which tested positive were sent for analysis to a German laboratory, and the conclusive results from the German laboratory were received by the FSAI on Friday, 11 January, which was last Friday. The FSAI informed the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the results last Monday, 14 January.

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Once that information was received in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister was informed, and the Minister informed the Cabinet at the first opportunity, which was the next day, Tuesday.

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: We are going into a level of detail now.

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am not-----

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Through the Chair-----

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It really is important because the food industry in the country and the thousands of jobs that depend on it are of such importance that we must do this in a measured, open, transparent way.

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Until I know the exact information the FSAI had at any given point and passed on at the appropriate point-----

Leaders' Questions (17 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: All of this - the sequence of events, the degree of knowledge and the quality of the result - can be put in clear questions to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He will lay it out it a completely open and transparent way.