Results 17,581-17,600 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Irish economy continues to grow at a robust pace, with annual GDP growth of 6.7 per cent in 2018. However, over the last number of months uncertainty in the external environment has increased substantially.  The pace of growth has slowed in Ireland's key export markets, with a loss of momentum particularly evident in both the euro area and the UK. Accordingly the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Websites (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has developed the gov.ie website which is a key tenant of the Public Service ICT strategy under Digital First. The objective of gov.ie is the creation of a shared website for all Departments, presenting content in an accessible manner for ease of online interaction for citizens and businesses. It will provide easy-to-find information about government services and will improve on...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 109 together. I refer the Deputy to my reply to PQ 6225 of 7 February 2019. The position remains unchanged. The process of dismantling the Financial Emergency legislation commenced under the Lansdowne Road Agreement 2016-2018 and will be completed under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA). The PSSA, which was negotiated in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Garda Communications (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The current contract for the provision of radio services to An Garda Síochána and other emergency services is due to expire on 16 June 2019. This contract covers the provision of national narrowband secure digital radios network services as a managed service and as such no concession agreement was included in the contract. Officials of my Department are engaged in a in a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Officials of my Department are engaged in an OJEU procurement exercise to establish a new replacement framework for the delivery of a nation-wide, narrowband, secure, managed digital radio service for voice and data purposes and for the supply of associated services. It advertised its intention to procure replacement services in January 2017 and is currently in the process of a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Garda Communications (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Officials of my Department are engaged in a procurement exercise to establish a new replacement framework for the delivery of a nation-wide, narrowband, secure, managed digital radio service for voice and data purposes and for the supply of associated services. My officials solicited the views and requirements of all agencies currently using, and those who may use this network in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: This issue relates to a claim by community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors who have been seeking, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme. The matter was the subject of extensive discussion at the Community Sector High Level Forum...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Station Closures (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that two former Garda Station buildings in County Cavan have been sold.  These are Finea and Tullyvin. No former Garda stations in County Monaghan have been sold. The former Garda station at Shantonagh, Co. Monaghan was a leased property and this lease was surrendered following the closure of the station. The following table sets...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The management, delivery and oversight of individual investment programmes and public services within the agreed allocations are a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. With this in mind, the monitoring of the national children's hospital project, including regular progress reports, is a matter in the first instance for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My answer, when the Deputy sees it in written format, will slightly fill out some of the points I have made to him. I am clear that with business cases being developed now, particularly in the aftermath of the great challenges and difficulties we had with the national children's hospital, I am seeing two features in place more and more. First, I am seeing the costs in place refer to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department and I play a role in appraising and further understanding cost-benefit analyses that come into our Department. However, this is the case not just with analyses that come in from independent boards, but also with those that come in from Departments. To respond to the Deputy's second question about the participation of officials of mine on boards, we have seen a greater...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As I stated to Deputy Jonathan O'Brien in our debate last night on the national children's hospital project, when information comes into the Department regarding the delivery of the project it feeds into an online tracker. That is available but we are going to publicise it further in the coming weeks. I have to decide whether we need to go beyond that. Having quarterly reports come into my...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I appreciate the Deputy recognising the scale of information that might come into my Department. I expect that any red flags regarding a project will be flagged to my Department. Many different difficulties develop with many projects along the way, however, though none on the scale of what we are now dealing with in respect of the national children's hospital project. It is first and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Under the public spending code, before any tender process is run, the relevant procuring Department must first undertake a project appraisal to help inform whether the project should be approved to proceed to procurement or not. At that stage, my Department is involved in conducting a technical review of the cost benefit analysis undertaken by the line Department. In this case it is the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Cowen is making many assumptions regarding how this project is going to develop and those assumptions have yet to be tested. The Deputy's view is underpinned by an assumption that I am not aware or not involved in what the cost of this process will be or decisions that will be made regarding it. I am actively involved in all of that. I have laid out what the process is to the Deputy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware and as the Taoiseach said yesterday in the Dáil, the €500 million indicative figure that previously existed in respect of this project was for a completely different level of coverage from the level we are now looking to deliver.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Taoiseach indicated yesterday, the memorandum referred to how we were going to get to villages but this is now a project seeking to provide coverage for up to 500,000 homes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: If the Deputy is asking me whether I am aware of, and involved in, the process regarding where the costs stand, the answer is "Yes." When the decision goes to Cabinet, it will be on the basis of costs and complexities which are known and understood and I will continue to play a role as member of Government in the decision-making process at that point in particular.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To ensure an effective and efficient response to urgent social housing needs throughout the entire country, a variety of mechanisms are provided for under Rebuilding Ireland, the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. These include build, acquisition, lease, HAP and RAS. There are a variety of objectives behind this mix of delivery mechanisms, including speed of delivery,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We need to look at what the figures are at the moment and at the balance between what we are spending in schemes like HAP and RAS and what we are spending to directly deliver homes. I want to put those figures on the record. The amount being spent to make use of existing houses is €526 million for 2018.