Results 19,001-19,020 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The amendment deletes section 10(3)(d) of the Bill originally passed by the House. Section 10 sets out the circumstances under which a disclosure made to a person other than an employer, a prescribed person or a Minister - what we have classified as an external disclosure - will attract the protections of the legislation. One of the circumstances listed is that "in all the circumstances of...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The amendment does not relate to that; it relates to a disclosure to somebody outside the company. It is being made to ensure the reasonableness requirement is not an obstacle to that. With regard to the Senator's question, it is possible to report to a line manager and not necessarily the most senior manager and to have full protection under the legislation.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: This relates to the issue raised regarding An Garda Síochána. The group of amendments provides for what can be termed the "mainstreaming" of the Garda for the purposes of the Bill. The combined effect of the amendments is to ensure members of the Garda will be subject to this legislation in the same way as any other worker. In addition, the particular arrangement relating to the...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: It is the intention to mainstream the Garda Síochána. A reporting body for every body must be set out. Within a company, it would be the management, before they can disclose externally, and the same will apply to the Garda Síochána. While GSOC is a designated recipient of complaints, it would be possible for a member of the Garda Síochána to make an external...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Amendments Nos. 26 and 27 relate to an important issue at the core of the Bill which was of concern in both Houses, namely, the protection of the identity of whistleblowers. Having considered the arguments put to me in both Houses, I carefully considered this matter and consulted widely with the Attorney General. The amendments before us seek, as much as possible, consistent with the...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: This group of amendments relates to the very constructive and helpful debate on the Bill that took place in this and in the other House. The specific proposals concern the case that the Minister should issue guidelines to public bodies setting out the matters which their internal procedures should address to ensure consistency across public bodies - Members will recall that Senators raised...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The whole purpose of this legislation from the start was to have overarching legislation that captures everybody, both public and private, without distinction. All the banks will be covered by this legislation, whether their majority shareholding is in State hands or in private hands. There will be no distinction between the capacity of a whistleblower in Bank of Ireland, AIB or in any...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Senators will recall we had a debate on interim relief in this House. I accepted an amendment in this House to have interim relief which is new for breaches of labour law. This is sitting into the suite of labour law. The time limit for seeking interim relief in the Bill passed by the Seanad was set at seven days. It was put to me subsequently that in practice it is likely to take longer...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: This is a minor technical amendment to the first line on page 21 to correct a typographic error.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: These are technical amendments necessitated by recent legislative developments. Amendment No. 41 removes the reference to the Labour Services Act and amendment No. 42 inserts a provision for the amendment of the Further Education and Training Act 2013. As other legislation has overtaken us, I am correcting it to ensure it is up to date.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank Senators. We did our business expeditiously today, but we held a long debate when the Bill was before the House in the first instance, when useful and thoughtful suggestions were made, which I appreciate. The legislation that has been enacted is innovative in international terms. I presented on this Bill at the Open Government Partnership forum in London recently. It is regarded as...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Redeployment (2 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are no formal arrangements in place within the Civil Service to facilitate requests for transfers to other locations/employments, except in the case of grades represented by the Civil & Public Services Union. Transfers for these grades (mostly Clerical and Staff Officers) are arranged in accordance with formal procedures agreed with the Staff Side at General Council under the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Targets (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Ensuring the sustainability of the public finances is a pre-requisite for our economic recovery.  This Government is committed to restoring economic stability and growth and has pursued a determined deficit reduction strategy in order to reduce the General Government Deficit below 3% of GDP by the target date of end-2015.  This is a challenging target and one that is set against a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Redeployment (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are no formal arrangements in place within the Civil Service to facilitate requests for transfers to other locations/employments, except in the case of grades represented by the Civil & Public Services Union. Transfers for these (mostly Clerical and Staff Officers) are arranged in accordance with formal procedures agreed with the Staff Side at General Council under the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Further to my previous answer to the Deputy, I must reiterate that the Commissioner of Valuation is independent in the exercise of his functions under the Valuation Act, 2001 and I, as Minister, have no role in decisions in this regard. The position regarding claims for exemption is that in order for a property occupied by an organisation to be exempt from rates under the terms of Schedule...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Appointments to State Boards (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Special EU Programmes Body is a North South implementation body established under the British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999 which implements the Good Friday Agreement.  The Body works under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC).  The SEUPB does not have a Board. In 2013, on foot of the review of the St Andrew's Agreement, the NSMC examined the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Sick Leave (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I wish first to assure the Deputy that the management of sick leave is taken most seriously in my Department. Sick leave absences and any patterns emerging are monitored and analysed and, as per the guidelines set out in Circular 06/2014 - Arrangements for Paid Sick Leave local managers are supported by the HR Strategy Unit to ensure that sick leave review meetings and resumption of work...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Consultancy Contracts Data (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question the following table outlines the total amount spent on external reports commissioned by my Department since its inception in 2011: Name of External Report Costs Date of Commission Date or Expected Date of Publication Name of External Consultant Independent verification of savings arising under the Public Service Agreement €35,819.80 16 May 2011...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Cumas Gaeilge sa Stát Seirbhís (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Mar is eol don Teachta, tá cur chuige nua chun tacú le cumas Gaeilge sa Stát Seirbhís ceadaithe ag an Rialtas in áit an chórais faoina dtugtaí marcanna breise le haghaidh cumas Gaeilge i gcomórtais earcú agus ardú céime don Stát Seirbhís.  De réir an chórais nua, tá beartais á dtabhairt isteach chun an...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (3 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decided on 11 February to allocate up to €69.5 million for repair and remediation of public infrastructure that was damaged by severe weather in the period 13 December 2013 to 6 2014 January. Of the figure of €69.5 million, up to €19.6 million was allocated for repair by local authorities of existing built coastal protection and flood defences in the...