Results 17,521-17,540 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I accept the amendment.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I accept the amendment.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I accept the amendment.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decides departmental allocations in the budget each year, with the full detail of these allocations being set out in the Estimates approved by the Dáil. All Ministers and their Departments are responsible for ensuring their expenditure is undertaken in line with the voted allocations. At the beginning of each year every Department sets out its expected profile of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has asked a number of questions and I will deal with the specifics. I consider all Estimates and we must ensure that we live within budgetary allocations. I am very confident that at the end of this year, the overall expenditure profile will be comfortably met across all Departments. Could there be changes in existing arrangements for Departments? There will be a number of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is clearly a matter for line Departments to run their own Estimates, as otherwise we would only have one Department of public expenditure for running everything, which would not be right either. I will finish the point relating to the Department of Justice and Equality. We have allocated an additional €5 million for the first instalment of the Magdalen payments, which was not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: In so far as this issue relates to my Department at it, it relates to the sale of State assets; the responsibility for the ESB does not fall within my Department and I am not going to respond on that matter. With regard to the dispute concerning the manner in which the ESB currently accounts for its pension liabilities, I do not envisage that the matter will have any impact on the disposal...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy is making very serious charges about altering accounts and it would be proper for her to deal with the line Minister, who has all the information relating to the issue. She has spoken of the Government collectively signing off the accounts, I presume, as they are not a matter for me. The Government collectively receives the report of the ESB and every other State agency and these...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am impressed by the view of the two main Opposition spokespersons on the capacity of my Department. Deputy Sean Fleming wants me to micromanage the HSE-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: -----and Deputy Mary Lou McDonald thinks I should micromanage each and every one of the State companies.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: My Department has a large reach, but that is a bit much. The line Minister with responsibility for knowing the detail of the ESB is the person best placed to answer the Deputy’s question.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I know the Deputy has no more interest in getting accurate answers that she does not bother with the line Minister who I am sure would be very happy to answer any question or respond to a matter raised in the Topical Issue debate.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Semi-State Bodies Issues (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is probably more useful from a soundbite perspective to make a statement as opposed to getting information by way of question and answer.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am afraid I am not responsible for the spatial strategy. That is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. I am responsible for the public service reform plan, to which I assume the question refers. The reform plan was published in 2011 and set out an ambitious agenda for reform across all areas of the public service. Good progress has been made in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I have heard the Deputy make the case before and she makes a compelling case. Services were developed in an ad hoc way in health service delivery, for example, depending on what the priorities were in a health board region. We now have a national integrated health service, but there are still disparities in staffing levels and available services. Reference was also made to the distribution...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Again, I agree with the Deputy. I await formal proposals from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on the new spatial strategy. Consultations are ongoing between my Department and all other Departments in that regard in order that when the spatial strategy is produced, it will be an integrated document into which everybody will have an input. When we see it, we...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for his question. Obviously, the commercial semi-state sector has taken no pay cuts except at chief executive level consequent to all the legislation that was passed. That has caused some commentary among public servants generally. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 was enacted on 5 June 2013. The primary purpose is to implement the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has resorted to name-calling. The only time his party's philosophy was ever employed in actually running anything was in the city of Liverpool. That ended up with the authorities running out of money and sacking public sector workers across the city. This that is the experience we have of the Deputy's policies being deployed. I spoke to public sector workers and their...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Was it a great success?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It was re-elected, was it?