Results 18,801-18,820 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Sorry, I was confusing myself.

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for the question. More than 1,100 allowances were notified to my Department under the review of public service allowances and premium pay. Departments were notified in September 2012 of details of the Government decision regarding the outcome of the review. Approval for payment of an allowance to a new beneficiary pending the outcome of the review was withdrawn from 31...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is right.

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I agree with the Deputy. My first budget announcement was that we could realistically target 5%, and that is where the figure of €75 million came from. The Deputy was on the committee which examined allowances and he knows that when we drill down to see what are allowances, this is a completely different issue. I do not have time to go into detail with the Deputy but within the...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The largest category of allowances form a significant element of the overall taxable and pensionable remuneration of staff, especially in the groups of which we are aware, including gardaí, firefighters, prison officers, the Defence Forces and teachers. It is neither practical nor reasonable to take away unilaterally a big chunk of somebody's income. That is the long and short of it....

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 11 together. Public procurement is governed by EU and national rules, the aim of which is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. It would be a breach of the EU rules for a public body to favour or discriminate against particular candidates on grounds...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We have centralised procurements and will have a handle on what we spend when buying goods and services for the State. This will probably be the first time we have a comprehensive picture so that different State agencies do not buy goods and services from the same supplier at different rates. Less than 5% of the overall public procurement spend is now won by foreign companies. In excess...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I welcome the broad support for the work of the Office of Government Procurement. Not only will it save money for the State and the taxpayer, something that Deputy Naughten always espouses, but it is more efficient. It will make SMEs more efficient. It has already done so. Between 2012 and 2013 we have increased the participation rate of SMEs overall. We have more than maintained the...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I do not know whether Deputy Kyne is a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It would be useful for that committee to invite Mr. Quinn, the chief procurement officer, to explain what he is doing. I think the Deputy would be excited by it. This is a very important initiative in the reform agenda to do things more efficiently and well. The Deputy asked...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Housing Finance Agency Issues (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There has been no change in policy in relation to dividends from the HFA. The primary concern is to ensure that the HFA, like any financial institution, maintain sufficient reserves. The reserves of the Housing Finance Agency at the end of 2012 stood at €72.8m having increased by €13.7m during 2012. It was considered by the Board that the Reserves, which are maintained at...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Policy (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 16 together. While Ireland is no longer in a Troika programme following our successful programme exit in December 2013, we are still subject to the fiscal deficit ceilings for Ireland as set out in the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP).  The Government's overall fiscal target is to reduce the General Government Deficit to 4.8% for 2014 and to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Assessments (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As outlined to the Deputy in the reply to Parliamentary Questions 16 and 41 of 26 February 2014, the core strategy for addressing flood risk in the Shannon Basin is the River Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management (CFRAM) Study and I am advised that good progress continues to be made on the project. A total of 66 locations along the Shannon have been identified for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decided on 11thFebruary 2014 to allocate total funding of up to €69.5m for repair of public infrastructure and facilities damaged by the severe weather events in the period 13thDecember 2013 to 6thJanuary 2014 based on estimates of costs provided by Local Authorities to the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government (DoECLG). This allocation included up...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Licence Sale (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I am committed to ensuring that the National Lottery continues to operate in a socially responsible way under its new licensee.  I consider it very important that the Lottery continues to build on its strong record in this area dating back to its foundation in 1986 and I welcome the National Lottery's ongoing commitment to best practice in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pensions Levy (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The public service Pension-related Deduction (PRD) was introduced in March 2009 under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009. PRD is a progressively structured multi-band reduction imposed  on the pay of pensionable public servants.  PRD continues to be a critical component of the public service pay and pension measures adopted as...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The reform of the procurement system across the public service is a key element of the reform programme for the public service.  Public Procurement savings enable public service organisations deliver much needed services within the tighter budgets that they much now operate. The fragmented procurement arrangements across the public service have enabled suppliers to charge different...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decided on Departmental allocations for 2014 in the Budget which was announced on 15thOctober, 2013. The full details in relation to these allocations were set out in the Revised Estimates for Public Services, 2014 (REV) published on 18thDecember, 2013 and approved by the Dáil on Thursday, 30thJanuary, 2014.  Ministers and their Departments are responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Public Works Properties (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Commissioners of Public Works have assigned seventeen former Garda stations to local community and voluntary groups subject to agreed licence. The Commissioners are currently examining proposals from community and voluntary groups for a further five former Garda stations.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget 2015 (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Following on from Ireland's successful exit from the Troika programme in December last, the Government's fiscal target for 2015 is to bring the General Government Deficit below 3 of GDP, in line with our commitments under the Excessive Deficit Procedure. In order to help ensure that we achieve the deficit target for 2015, the Expenditure Report 2014 (as published on Budget Day in October...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Decentralisation Programme (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government agreed in November 2011 that the Decentralisation Programme, announced in the December 2003 Budget Statement by the then Minister for Finance, should be cancelled in the light of the budgetary and staffing outlook. It was also agreed that a review of 22 projects should be carried out. Following completion of that review in January 2012, a total of 43 projects had been...