Results 19,341-19,360 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Moratorium on Recruitment and Promotion in the Public Service as necessarily restricted the level of new recruitment and promotions in the Public Service in order to help reduce and control the Exchequer pay bill.  Persons on maternity leave from the Public Service are, in general, deemed to be employees while on maternity leave and as such in the normal...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: An actuarial valuation was carried out earlier this year by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to update the accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions. The key result of the exercise is that the total accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions is now estimated at €98bn as at December 2012. This compares with the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Sick Leave (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The new sick leave arrangements apply to approximately 278,800 FTE in the public service.  This includes public servants in the education sector, the health sector, the local government sector, the civil service, An Garda Síochána, and the non-commercial semi-state bodies. The main category of public servant to which the new sick leave arrangements do not apply are...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Competitions to select candidates for appointment to posts as Administrative Officers in the Civil Service took place in 2012 and 2013. In 2012 there were six specialist streams - Banking and Finance; Tax Policy; Law; Human Resources; Economics; and Accountancy. In 2013 there were five streams with no recruitment to Accountancy from the 2013 competition. The following...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Appointments (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question the following tables outline the total number of new appointments with a breakdown of grade, made in my Department, and those under my aegis, from July 2011 to date in 2014 as the Deputy will be aware that my Department was only formally established on 6July 2011. I would also like clarify that as part of the rollout of our essential reform agenda,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Appointments (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Department of the Public Service Circular 6/1984 - Private Secretaries and Confidential Clerical Assistants sets out instructions concerning private secretaries and confidential clerical assistants. The circular provides that the persons selected to act as Private Secretary should be drawn from the grades of Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer or Administrative Officer. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Performance Management Systems (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: My Department is responsible for the operation of performance management in the civil service. The operation of performance management in the wider public service is the responsibility of individual public sector bodies.  Since its introduction in the civil service in 2000,  the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) has been the subject of ongoing change...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Funding (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government continues to prioritise resources for the health sector. I am currently in discussions with Ministerial colleagues regarding Budget 2015 and the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure as part of the 2015 Budget and Estimates process. Government policy on Budget 2015 will be announced on Budget Day the 14th of October 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Parliamentary Party Allowances (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Parliamentary Activities Allowance (formerly known as the Party Leader's Allowance) is provided for in the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938, as amended, most recently by the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices)(Amendment) Act, 2014. The allowance is paid to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Records (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The provision of the storage of records and archives is a shared service provided by the Department of Finance for both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  Files are presently stored in two separate locations. The first is in our main premises in Government Buildings.  There is no cost for the storage in this area. The second...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Records (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: File Management and Archiving is a shared service provided by the Department of Finance for both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of file management and paper records.  In return, my Department provides ICT services to the Department of Finance which includes electronic records. There is work ongoing within the Office of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Workforce Planning was launched within the Civil Service in November 2011 and is included in the Government's Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016. The key principle of workforce planning is having the right number of people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right time.  Workforce planning requires organisations to focus on the range of skills they need to deliver on their...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Redeployment (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are no plans to set up a consultancy division in my department.  However, over recent years, the Business Consulting Unit in my department has been providing advice to public service organisations in the areas of business process improvement, service delivery and organisational development.  Expert advice is also provided within the public service by the Office of...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I am delighted at being back in the Seanad and wish all Members a fruitful new parliamentary session. I am pleased to bring the Freedom of Information Bill 2013 before the Seanad today. This Bill has benefitted significantly from the detailed consideration given in its passage through the other House and I look forward to an equally constructive and productive debate in this House. In line...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: They were. Official information held by the public sector can and should be made available but we must have regard for privacy concerns. Where exemptions exist, they correspond to those found in FOI legislation in the most regressive jurisdictions that I have looked at. In addition, many of these exemptions are not absolute but will require to be subjected to public interest tests. My FOI...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I am sure not. The Senator asked me that question on my way here. I give that answer by way of illustration.

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Is there?

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are many bodies, significant charities and so on - we had some controversy about that issue - that would be delighted, as the Senator rightly said, to be completely open and subject to FOI. I understand there is a burden involved but we have to help all bodies to meet obligations as they are rolled out and I am cognisant of that. There are new provisions in the Bill to ensure FOI...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: My retort would be that one should hire a researcher. There can be discreet bespoke FOI requests that would take less than 25 hours of search and retrieval by a public servant. That is a more reasonable way of proceeding. I am also providing for the introduction of a minimum threshold of €100, five hours work, below which no search, retrieval and copying fees would be charged; that...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I apologise to the Senator but I have previously committed to budgetary meetings at this time. However, I will watch and read his contributions with interest.