Results 16,921-16,940 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Legislation (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Freedom of Information Bill 2013, which I am currently sponsoring, passed Second Stage in the Dail last Thursday (3 October 2013). The Bill as currently drafted provides at Section 7 for the application of FOI to non-public bodies which are in receipt of significant funding from the State. This will be progressed in due course by way of Ministerial Order subject to consultation with...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Legislation (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Freedom of Information Bill 2013, which I am currently sponsoring, passed Second Stage in the Dail last Thursday (3 October 2013). The Bill as currently drafted provides, in accordance with the Programme for Government and the Government decision of July 2012 on the General Scheme of the Bill, that An Garda Síochána will be subject to freedom of information in relation to its...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Haddington Road Agreement Issues (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is a well established principle that the pay of job or work sharers and those on atypical work patterns is calculated by reference to the whole time equivalent pay rate for the grade or post in question. Under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, pay reductions for public servants including public health doctors on annual salary rates in excess of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Job Initiatives (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: In July 2012, the Government announced plans for an additional 2.25 billion euro investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland. The stimulus package comprises two elements: - 1.4 billion euro to fund the proposed new Public Private Partnerships (PPP) programme. The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and the Department of Finance are leading on sourcing the private funding...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Programme for Government Implementation (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Programme for Government contains a number of commitments, including that referred to in the Deputy’s question, to ensure that there is legal clarity and certainty regarding the legal relationship between Ministers and their civil servants and the appropriate accountabilities that apply in each case. As I have previously informed the House, my Department carried out a review of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Rehiring (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Programme for Government commitment has been examined in the first instance in the context of the introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists and rules governing the conduct of lobbying. Government approval was secured at the end of April for the drafting of the Lobbying Regulation Bill 2013 by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. The General Scheme has been referred to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Programme for Government Implementation (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: In mid-2011 the structure of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) was reformed such that it would have a majority of external members of whom one would be the Chair. Since then there have been a number of developments in the recruitment and selection process at Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General level and equivalent. - The number of candidates appointed from outside the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service Code of Conduct (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Policies relating to the participation of public servants vary across different areas of the public service and restrictions on political activity are not uniform. My own Department is responsible for the policy that applies in relation to civil servants and political activity. This is set out in Circular 9/2009, available on www.circulars.gov.ie. There are clear restrictions on the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Implementation (8 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan was published in November 2011 and set out an agenda for long-term sustainable reform of the Public Service. This represents a key element of the Government’s response to the economic situation and the need to continue to deliver important services, in the face of increased demands and reduced staff numbers and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Haddington Road agreement sets out the basis of a further €1 billion contribution by the public service pay and pensions bill to our fiscal recovery through a series of equitable and sustainable measures. These measures will allow for the creation of a more streamlined and unified public service. In addition, the agreement will give certainty to public servants over the next...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I cannot be definitive on whether there will be a Supplementary Estimate for the health area. I can tell the Deputy that the most recent figures we have, which I just published last week, show that every line Department is within profile, either below its voted expenditure limits by the end of September or on target. Out of an amount in excess of €6.9 billion, the Department of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has asked a number of questions. First, in regard to the monitoring apparatus for the new Haddington Road agreement, Deputies opposite were quite critical of the monitoring of the last one. I thought it was a good monitoring system because it gave quantifiable savings and some of those were externally audited again by a firm of auditors. I am open to suggestions in that regard....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: With regard to this budget, while the primary objective has been to reduce the deficit and return stability to the public finances, it has been vital to the Government to spread the burden of adjustments in as fair and as equitable a manner as possible while also seeking to minimise any negative impact on economic growth and job maintenance. Furthermore, it is the Government's responsibility...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As is normally the case when discussing matters of this nature, the Deputy is profoundly wrong. The Government has reversed the reduction in the minimum wage, removed 350,000 low-paid workers from the net relating to the universal social charge and protected all core social welfare payments. One can take a snapshot of individual budgets rather than considering the overall picture. Ireland...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is what the worst projections show.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Sinn Féin's attitude when we took offices was that we should have told the troika to take a hike and take its money with it. If we had taken that party's advice, there would be no social welfare or educational provision and we would not have an economy. The economic strategy employed by the Government has brought us back to sustainability. We have taken very difficult decisions and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is as if there are soft options available. The Deputy appears to believe we can sprinkle fairy dust and all will be well. I am afraid we do not live in that reality. On the specifics, we indicated that there would be three successive increases of €250 in student registration charges. We have not reintroduced fees. The Deputy's party is in power in the North and student fees...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I welcome my constituency colleague, Deputy Wallace, to the House and to Priority Questions. As he is aware, job creation is a critical priority for Government. In July 2012 the Government announced its plans for an additional €2.25 billion investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland. The most important contribution capital investment can make is to provide the capacity...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Some of those question are not particularly germane to my area of responsibility but I will do my best to answer them. Irish Water is the new flagship State agency. It will be a commercial semi-State body, the largest created since the ESB. It will have a significant quantum of money to invest, not only in respect of water metering but also in the context of water development. Such...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Youth unemployment is a critical issue. Thankfully, we have less than half the youth unemployment challenge as Spain. We have a variety of initiatives under way, including JobBridge, to tackle it. We have increased the number of young people in work, so it is not simply the emigration valve. There are actually more young people at work, which is very important. The youth guarantee is a...