Results 17,621-17,640 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To return to the central point Deputy Boyd Barrett put to me, in 2020 and 2021 under Rebuilding Ireland we will be housing more citizens in local authority and approved housing body homes than through the private rental sector. That is where we are trying to get to. While we are getting there, we are trying to ensure that families who need support get it. That is the target of this plan...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In regard to Deputy Broughan's point, I do not have any plans to introduce a further level of taxation on the construction sector or on those involved in the development of new homes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The reason I do not propose to do that is that we are trying to get more companies and local authorities involved in the delivery of more houses than are currently being built. We have tripled the stamp duty on commercial property and introduced a vacant site levy. I have also ended some of the tax reliefs that were made available for the construction sector. The purpose of all these...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Estimates process and the determination of expenditure ceilings now takes place as part of a whole-of-year budgetary cycle. The summer economic statement, SES, sets out the overall fiscal strategy for the approaching budget. The pre-budget expenditure position is provided for in the mid-year expenditure report. This sets the baseline for examination of budgetary priorities by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is correct that supplementary budgets have been required for different reasons in each of the years. In terms of this year, I have already commenced engagement with a number of Departments on their expected spend later this year. In terms of where we are now versus profile, while the vast majority of Departments are now either at or below profile, for me what is key is where we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The vast majority of Departments stay inside their expenditure ceilings. Of course, the Department of Health has had ongoing difficulties in doing that. In some years, we made progress in reducing the level of supplementary funding that was needed. In other years, it did not go as I would have wanted. Last year is an example of that. I assure the Deputy that I take my role as seriously...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: When things happen during the year, it can mean that things turn out differently from what Ministers indicated to me at budget time. In such circumstances, I have put supplementary budgets in place in an effort to prevent difficulties from arising. I take the Deputy's overall point that one or two Departments need to be in a better place this year than they were last year.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 20 together. The management, delivery and oversight of individual projects and public services within the agreed allocations is a responsibility of every Department and Minister.  With this in mind, the monitoring of the national children's hospital project, including the management of the costs and the residual risks, is a matter in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister, Deputy Harris, and I have given a commitment that in a number of weeks, we will outline how we intend to respond to the recommendations that are contained in the PwC report. Two of the recommendations are particularly relevant to me. I remind Deputy Burton that the Minister for Health dealt with this matter last night in response to a number of questions from Opposition...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy was part of that Government. As I recall, her party played a pretty active role in trying to decide whether this was the right decision. Given that she was a member of the Government that made this decision, it is a little bit late in the day now for her to raise questions about the location of the new hospital. Unlike the Deputy, I still believe we are doing this in the right...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: 12 o’clock I assure the Deputy that I have the pleasure of seeing that new building pretty much every week as I visit her constituency for a variety reasons. I am pleased to see it go ahead. While I am glad to see the project being delivered, I must note that the Deputy was part of the Cabinet that made the decision. It is late in the day-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----for her to be saying that there are difficulties with it given that she was at the Cabinet table when the decision was made.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At least Deputy Burton is willing to make constructive interventions to this debate, unlike Deputy Mattie McGrath.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The majority of public works projects are currently delivered using fixed price, lump sum contracts tendered on a competitive basis, with clear risk allocation set out in the tender documents.  These contracts represent the default tendering position for projects delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the National Development Plan.   In line with...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Targets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The demographic figures used to inform budget negotiations are based on an ex-ante analysis carried out by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES). Demographic cost pressures from 2017 to 2027 are set out in the IGEES staff paper ‘Budgetary Impact of Changing Demographics 2017 – 2027’ published in September, 2016. This paper is based on figures from...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Since 2015 it has been possible to provide for significant increases in Government expenditure, which have allowed for the recruitment of additional staff across the public service.  At the end of 2014, there were 293,346 public service employees (on a full-time equivalent or FTE basis) and this increased to 330,576 (FTE) by end 2018.  In particular a large proportion...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 19 together. This issue relates to a claim by community employment supervisors and assistant supervisorswho 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...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Work to promote the incorporation of social and environmental considerations in public procurement is being progressed under the National Public Procurement Policy Framework which is the overarching policy framework for public procurement in Ireland. Under this framework, proposals to implement environmental considerations in public procurement are being developed through...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The process of unwinding the Financial Emergency (FEMPI) 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 2017, and the provisions of which were statutorily provided for under the terms of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, allows for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 25 together. I should first explain that as Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at a Departmental level.  Responsibility for the management and delivery of the individual investment projects, within the...