Results 22,261-22,280 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 provides for a more comprehensive examination by the Public Service Pay Commission of underlying difficulties in recruitment and retention in sectors and employment streams of the public service where difficulties are evident. The Government recently approved the terms of reference for the second phase of work of the commission. Where a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Staff (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I entirely agree with Deputy Calleary on the final point he made. As he said, pay will play a role but there are many other matters at stake here, particularly the issue of career planning. When people enter any kind of job, but particularly a front-line service job, they have a reasonable expectation that they will know how their career is going to be planned for the foreseeable future....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The disbursement of funds from the Vote of the Department of Rural and Community Development is a matter for the Accounting Officer of that Department in the first instance. My Department's circular No. 13/2014 clarifies arrangements for the management and accountability for grants from Exchequer funds. In particular, section 6 provides that the default position is that grants should be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I can assure Deputy Ó Cuív that there are few Ministers more capable of spending money well than the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: When he is dealing with this matter this year, I am very confident that he will be ensuring that money made available will be spent. Deputy Ó Cuív can be certain that if the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring approaches my Department looking for a decision regarding pre-funding - he has not done so as yet - it will be for money that he is confident of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not envisage a broader consultation on this. It is part of the agreement that I made with representatives of the union movement on the Public Service Stability Agreement. In fairness, given that I have made that commitment, I will adhere to the process. The process, as I understand it, does not include a role for public consultation. No doubt the union movement, in dealing with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: This is exactly the point I was making earlier on at different points in these questions. It is that if one makes one move in one area, it always has consequences in other areas. The Taoiseach dealt with this matter in Leaders' Questions during the week and both myself and the Minister, Deputy Harris, are engaged in this matter at present. I understand that the organisations that are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware the card is a means of assisting the delivery of public services to people who need them. The Department is currently engaged in a procurement process for a media campaign to promote the awareness and benefits of the scheme. The campaign is likely to be delivered by radio, digital and print channels and is expected to begin in the coming months. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My voice is not as fresh as I thought. Apologies to the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, for what I have just done.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On the questions Deputy Calleary put to me, the procurement process is not being delayed. It is under way. Because we have not got to the point at which the campaign has even begun - we are not at a point yet, indeed, in which the campaign can even be paused - my understanding is that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has engaged with the Data Protection...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In relation to the Deputy's first point, I myself have the card and I am glad to hear Deputy Ó Cuív appreciates and acknowledges the role that it can play. I will take on board the point the Deputy made about the writing on it and I will pass it on to my colleagues who are working on it. As the Deputy will be aware, the people who are making the greatest use of it at present...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It sounds as if the roles and process to which the Deputy refers relate to section 7 rather than section 8 procedures. As I explained, under section 7 procedures, the commission cannot overturn the decision of the licence holder and does not play a role in the decision. Has the Deputy raised the matter with the Minister for Health? Perhaps he has already done so. If the matter falls...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: This is not a matter for my Department. As I indicated, the CPSA is an independent body. From the Deputy's description, this appears to be a section 7 matter in respect of which the CPSA may not have a role. It is very much a matter for the Department of Health and HSE, which will respond to the Deputy's query. The Deputy's question did not refer to the specific issue he raises, which is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: If the Deputy had referred specifically to the recruitment of psychologists in the text of his question, rather than raising a general issue in respect of the role of the CPSA, I may have been able to provide a clear answer on the role of the HSE and Department of Health in this matter. Given the way in which the psychologists in question are appointed, it is highly likely that the CPSA does...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The issue of addressing the difference in incremental salary scales between those public servants who entered public service employment since 2011 and those who entered before that date was addressed with the relevant trade union interests under the provisions of the Haddington Road agreement. My Department and the Department of Education and Skills reached an agreement with the INTO and TUI...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is an annual cost. In terms of the timeline for completing the process, I expect it to conclude - one way or another - in advance of next year's budget. We will engage in the process in good faith. From my dealings with the INTO, which has raised the matter with me, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, I am aware of the difficulty the pay equalisation issue causes. It would be very...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Government Communications (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not have the answer for the Deputy in respect of the total value the State spends on advertising and communications throughout the State. That was not contained in the Deputy's original question. However, I will get the answer for him. I believe that when I provide the answer, the need for efficiency and streamlining in respect of how we do this work will become apparent. A wide...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Government Communications (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: A decision was brought to Government in respect of the matter, and it was one I supported. The recommendation came from the Department of the Taoiseach. I do not believe any other Government body or agency was involved. As part of that there was focus on how much money we are spending on advertising and on the procurement of communication and the opportunity to centralise and do that work...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commission for Public Service Appointments (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Commission for Public Service Appointments is an independent statutory body. It is responsible for overseeing appointments to a wide range of positions in the civil and public service. In carrying out its oversight role the commission audits recruitment processes and examines complaints from individuals unhappy with the conduct of an appointment process....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Labour Court Recommendations (9 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 17 together. Following a meeting with SIPTU and IMPACT trade unions in late 2015, the community sector high level forum, which had ceased operation some years earlier, was reconvened by my predecessor, Deputy Brendan Howlin, in order to fully examine certain issues pertaining to the community employment sector, having regard to the consequences for...