Results 15,541-15,560 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Below cost?

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I would be afraid to miss one.

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Minister of State was here as were my officials who took notes. I was anxious to get here myself. When the debate was scheduled I did not realise that events would require me to be in the other House this morning. This is the third occasion on which I have debated this issue in this House and I do not believe there are any views I have not already heard. I have listened to every...

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am not referring to anybody.

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am not. Bluntly, it is not all about Senator O'Donnell.

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I have faced difficult issues, including negotiating with the troika on the assets we should sell. I would rather sell no asset. However, during the programme for Government negotiations with Fine Gael, we agreed a package of measures, not all of which I was enthusiastic about, but all of which I could live with. The Government wanted to have a few flagship achievements in areas that are...

Seanad: National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I appreciate the Leader making further time available. In the context of retailers, we are including in the licence the figure which is currently available. It will be stated in the licence that I will determine the figure and that this will not be capable of being altered subsequently by the regulator or anyone else. I will deal with the issue of the regulator on Committee Stage. I was...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Remuneration (25 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy’s question there are seven organisations within the Public Expenditure Vote Group including the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Office of Public Works, Public Appointments Service, Ombudsman, Valuation Office, State Laboratory and the new Shared Services. Because of the way the information is compiled the initial earning brackets can only begin...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 and 253 together. Public procurement is the acquisition, whether under formal contract or not, of works, supplies and services by public bodies. Public procurement in Ireland is governed by legal requirements, rules and guidelines set both at national and EU level. The general requirements for goods and general services are set out in the Public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Referendum Expenditure (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Referendum on the Protection of Children was held on the 10th November, 2012. Returning Officers are required to submit their accounts for the Referendum to the Minister for Finance not later than six months after the date on which the poll was conducted and so the total cost of the Referendum is not available at this time. An estimated breakdown of the costs is as follows: Advances...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Public Works Properties (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Due to adverse weather conditions, following the concerts in the Phoenix Park, works began in September 2012 and have been completed to our satisfaction. The State received €345,053 for the music concert series, which occupied the site for 3 weeks (approx).

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Garda Stations Closures (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Office of Public Works is currently assessing the property options arising in respect of all the recently closed Garda Stations including Ballinakill and Ballacolla Garda Stations in County Laois. This assessment will identify, in the first instance, if other State Bodies, including government departments and the wider public sector have a use for the property. If there is no other...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Redeployment (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Commissioner of Valuation is independent in the exercise of his duties under the Valuation Act, 2001 and the carrying out of valuations for rating purposes is his sole prerogative and the Act does not accord me as Minister any function in this regard. The Valuation Office operates within the employment control framework set by Government for the public service which imposes an overall...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Properties (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Lighting is not metered separately in the vast majority of public buildings. For this reason it is only possible to provide an estimate for the amount spent on lighting. The OPW is responsible for buildings occupied by central Government Departments and some state agencies. The total annual energy expenditure in these buildings is estimated at €32M. Approximately 65% of this is on...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has confirmed that he is interested in obtaining the figures for 2012. In that regard, the breakdown of gross current expenditure spent on Social Protection, Health and Education as a percentage of overall current expenditure in 2012 was 40%, 27% and 16% respectively. The calculations are based on the provisional outturn figures for 2012, as published in the Revised Estimates for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform Plan Update (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Public service reform is a cornerstone policy of this Government, with the clear objective to make our public services more effective and cost efficient. As part of this, Government has agreed an end-2014 serving numbers target of 282,500 (whole time equivalent). At end-2012 there were just over 290,500 (whole time equivalent) public servants. Therefore, over these two years a further...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Official Engagements (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy’s question I am pleased to inform him that the diary of my Secretary General will be published on our Department’s Website on a monthly basis. In relation to measures to make senior civil servants more accountable I am committed to bringing forward the necessary legislative changes or other reforms to meet the objective of ensuring greater clarity and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Licence Sale (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The overall Budgetary position includes a provisional estimate of the amount that we expect to receive from the licencing arrangements for the National Lottery. For obvious commercial reasons it would be inappropriate to give details in advance of the tendering process.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Revised Estimates Publication (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 263 and 264 together. The gross capital budget for 2013, as set out in the Revised Estimates Volume published on 17 April 2013, is €3.431bn. This figure represents a small reduction (€4m) to the allocation as set out in Budget 2013 which is mainly due to some minor technical adjustments. The figure of €3.096bn which the Deputy refers to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pensions Levy Issues (30 Apr 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I would refer the Deputy to my written PQ reply to Deputy Terence Flanagan on 14 March 2013.