Results 14,961-14,980 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy's response to this does not surprise me because all he is interested in is division, friction and turmoil.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: That is the clear agenda of the Deputy and is articulated as such by his views. Let us look at the facts. In 2019, if this agreement is accepted, 58% of those who entered during the new entrant period will benefit from this agreement, and this will increase to 78% by 2020. Underneath those percentage figures is the reality that this is an agreement which will offer benefits to 47,750 of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: We are unwinding FEMPI. I do not know if the Deputy has missed what we have been doing and what I have been looking to do in successive budgets. The last item of FEMPI legislation I brought in front of the House about a year ago lays out a path whereby the majority of our public servants on low and middle incomes will see the FEMPI measures that were applied to them gradually unwound, and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: That is why we have made this change. What the Deputy is not recognising in what he said is that austerity tends to be defined by reducing public expenditure and reducing pay. We are doing the opposite. We are increasing public expenditure and we are affordably increasing pay. Regarding what the Deputy said about retention and staffing difficulties, he is not acknowledging that, in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: We have a vibrant health service. We have a health service that, despite many of the difficulties it faces every day in the accident and emergency units, through its front-line workers, by and large delivers better health outcomes for our citizens. Due to the efforts of our staff and the resourcing and support they get, when our citizens get into the system they get the care and focus they...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: It applies even across a two-year period. In fairness, Sinn Féin has outlined ways in which tax could be raised to do that. However, my contention is that the tax measures Sinn Féin has outlined involve multiple tax increases and dealing with those sectors of employment that create jobs. At a time of such potential uncertainly due to Brexit we need to ensure that policies are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will deal with the point made by Deputy O'Brien relating to the banks. There are consequences with regard to what Sinn Féin is looking for in terms of our banking system. I realise we will be dealing with this matter during the Finance Bill. I have published a paper that deals with the consequences of treating our banking sector differently. There are consequences, including...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ports Facilities (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government's contingency planning for Brexit is being overseen by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is co-ordinating a whole-of-government response through several cross-departmental co-ordination structures. One focus of this contingency planning has been the adequacy of the current port and airport infrastructure and facilities post-Brexit. Physical infrastructure at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ports Facilities (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with Deputy Troy, and he is right to say, that in the context of what may happen with Brexit our port infrastructure, and especially Rosslare Europort, will acquire a new significance. Our port infrastructure will be even more important to how we maintain access to the Single Market. My assessment differs a little from that of Deputy Troy in the idea of Rosslare as a ghost town but...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ports Facilities (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: All of the work we have done has been based on the central case scenario of a transition period being in place. It continues to be the negotiating objective of the European Union task force, Ireland, as well as of the United Kingdom, that a transitional period can be agreed. We will stand by and deliver on the commitments we made about when customs officers would be recruited and available....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In order to ensure an effective and efficient response to urgent social housing needs, Rebuilding Ireland provides for a range of delivery mechanisms for social housing. There are a variety of objectives behind this mix including the appropriateness of support, flexibility and speed of delivery, as well as value for money for the Exchequer. The paper from my Department to which the Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Let us look at the figures for 2019. For 2019, the capital funding the State is making available is €1.1 billion to provide new social housing solutions and directly build homes, and providing €150 million of current funding to do it. The total amount of funding next year going into delivering additional units is €1.25 billion, with most of that in capital funding. In...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: From the point of view of people, to use the Deputy's prism, while we are increasing the provision of social housing for next year - as we are doing with 6,545 homes being delivered through local authority construction, Part V provision and the refurbishment of long-term voids, 1,300 units being delivered through acquisition programmes and 2,130 units being delivered by leasing - is it not...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I put it to the Deputy that over time, as our social housing output gets to the level we want it to get to - and I reiterate my view, which is the view of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, that those houses should be built directly by the State - we should also make use of homes, many of which have been delivered by the private sector, to house our citizens, who will be able to use that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his question. Managing the delivery of public services within allocations forms a key part of the responsibilities of every Minister and Department. My Department is in regular contact with all other Departments and offices to ensure that expenditure is being managed within the overall budgetary parameters. The drawdown of funds from the Exchequer is reported on each...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Every effort is made to ensure that we have credible Estimates that I can present to the Oireachtas at the end of each year. A huge amount of engagement happens with all Departments about this. With a small number of exceptions, the Estimates put forward to the Oireachtas for Departments tend to be either exactly met or, at times, come under profile. I know this is the subject of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will deal with each Deputy in turn. Deputy Durkan has acknowledged the pressures that can develop within a number of Departments, including the Department of Health, for budget overruns. The Minister, Deputy Harris, and I have worked very hard to put in place an Estimate for next year which reflects the learning we have had about challenges that have occurred during 2018. The way we have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Funding (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Managing expenditure within the overall budgetary parameters is a key factor in ensuring that our budgetary targets are delivered. As I said in reply to Deputy Durkan, the key responsibility sits with each Minister and Department. Regarding the health budget, spending on our health services is at a record level. In 2017, OECD data placed Ireland fifth in terms of spend per capitaamong the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Funding (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am accountable to the House for this. I regularly answer health expenditure questions in the House and at the Deputy's committee. Had I not provided the additional funding required by the Department of Health this year and that then resulted in dramatic changes in our hospitals and primary care centres, the Deputy would be the first Member-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Funding (24 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----to walk into the Chamber and condemn me for not taking action.