Results 20,561-20,580 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I can quote all the figures I want, to quote the Deputy, because these are the figures. These are the changes, these are facts.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: This is what has happened. The report takes account of change that has happened as people exit. 12 o’clock However, when I put facts to the Deputy he dismisses them if they do not fit into his narrative. We recognise the contribution our public servants have made and the concerns that exist, in particular in regard to our health service where we now have a specific module of work...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 14, 15 and 17 together. Ireland has been a significant beneficiary of Structural Funds throughout the 45 years of our EU membership. Of particular significance in the context of Brexit is the financial support there has been for the Border region of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with almost €2.4 billion of EU funding having been provided...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The way the questions were grouped probably did not do justice to Deputy Joan Burton's question about the general application of EU funds, with particular reference to ports. Our colleagues asked questions about PEACE and INTERREG programmes funding. They relate to different matters. To respond to the first question Deputy Joan Burton put to me about a focus on ports, the Ireland 2040...

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The public services card, and its online counterpart MyGovID, is the Government’s standard personal identity verification scheme, and it is core to delivering public services to people in a secure and efficient manner. My Department works closely with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection which is the lead implementation body for the production of the PSC,...

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to reiterate to the House that we have the highest level of protection in place to ensure that citizens' information and private data are safe, secure and stored and regulated in accordance with data protection law. I am aware of the issues of concern that were raised in the second half of last year. That is why we have published the document I referred to a moment ago on the website...

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: This is a Government of substance, contrary to what the Deputy has said. I look forward to seeing the latest round of changes to people's social welfare payments being made next week. It will assist people-----

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----who are in need of support-----

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and who deserve it. Only this morning-----

Other Questions: Data Protection (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the Central Bank of Ireland published the latest report on the progress that has been made in mortgage arrears. Contrary to what the Deputy said a moment ago, in many different areas we are making progress, but of course we always have to make more progress and have to deliver more. I am committed to playing my part in so doing. I appreciate the support the Deputy has offered, on...

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: An interdepartmental agency group was established in 2017 to review Ireland's experie nce of PPPs and to make recommendations on their future role in the context of the new ten-year national development plan, NDP. The NDP summarises the key findings and recommendations agreed as part of the PPP review, the detailed...

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: One of the things that occurs to me as I answer these parliamentary questions is that nobody is asking me about the national development plan.

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Burton asked me about capital investment.

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Month after month I stood in this House and Deputies asked me where the national development was. When would it arrive? Now that it has arrived, it has been greeted with silence. Indeed, the only difference in behaviour was that Deputy Jonathan O'Brien welcomed it. Given the number of times I was asked when it would arrive, and what would be in it-----

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----I was hoping there would at least be some questions on it this morning. Perhaps this demonstrates that it is a good strategy.

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: To answer the question that Deputy Burton put to me a moment ago on the report of the Parliamentary Budget Office and its point about PPPs, I note that one can make that point about any large public capital investment. It takes many years to determine whether it has delivered its objectives and provides value for money. To reiterate the point I made a moment ago, I now see PPPs in a...

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As Deputy Burton knows, I do not determine what questions I get to answer. That is a decision for the Ceann Comhairle and the Questions Office.

Other Questions: National Development Plan (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The same rules allowed multiple questions about the national development plan to be put to me in previous appearances in this House. To answer the questions Deputies Burton and Jonathan O'Brien have put to me, I am aware of concerns about PPPs that have developed in other jurisdictions. In Ireland, there is a track record of many PPPs delivering important projects and at good value. As I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: All I can do at this point is give the Deputy a commitment to consider it. I will have to read the report and consider it before I decide what I will raise with the Commission. Currently, my focus is on ensuring that the significant increases in capital expenditure we are implementing at present happen and that the projects we are committed to are delivered at affordable prices. However, I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (22 Mar 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The public private partnership, PPP, model is an internationally recognised model to design, build, finance, operate and maintain public infrastructure. In accordance with international best practice, PPP contracts already typically include detailed provisions that apply in the event of the liquidation of a consortium member of the PPP company, or an entity under the contract, to protect the...