Results 23,421-23,440 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Economic and Social Research Institute (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: One of the actions set out in the Civil Service Renewal Plan is to improve gender balance at each level by reviewing supports and policies to ensure these are impactful and measurable. This action is particularly important at senior management levels in the Civil Service where women are under-represented. I announced a series of initiatives earlier this year for achieving gender balance in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Data (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together. Please find below in table 1, information on the number of women and men employed in my Department, the National Shared Services Office and the Office of Government Procurement. These figures are based on the number of staff in each organisation as of 31stAugust 2017. Table 2 provides information on the numbers of men and women employed...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In response to the Deputy’s question, the following table outlines the cost of bank charges (including for credit cards) in each of the past five years:  Institution 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Bank of Ireland, VISA €186 €186 €186 €294 €342 Danske Bank €167 €354 €460 €446 €427 Fexco €11 ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I can assure the Deputy that I fully appreciate the uncertainty that Brexit has caused, not just for the PEACE programme but also for INTERREG. Over the last quarter of a century the two programmes have made an enormous contribution to cross-Border cooperation, and they remain important drivers of regional development in a cross-Border context. Last December I travelled to Derry where,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Proposed Legislation (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 298 to 300, inclusive, together. On 7th July 2015, the Government approved the drafting of the Data-Sharing and Governance Bill.  The Government’s objective in bringing forward the General Scheme was to promote data sharing between public bodies for legitimate and clearly specified purposes and to improve transparency for individual...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Prison Service Staff (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a grade for Prison Service Clerical Officers in the Prison Service. The purpose of this grade is to carry out the administrative and support duties necessary for a modern and efficient Prison Service. The introduction of the grade was consistent with legislation, regulations and Codes of Practice governing Civil Service recruitment. The granting of particular...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Staff (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 277 together. The head of my Department’s Brexit/EU/North South Unit is responsible for co-ordinating Brexit issues in the Department. The Principal-led Unit oversees Brexit work across the Department and acts as the contact point with the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other Government...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Arts Funding (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Cork Event Centre project was included in the Exchequer Stimulus package announced in Budget 2014. The project is being part-funded from the proceeds of the National Lottery licence transaction with an Exchequer grant of €12m being provided through the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Overall responsibility for the management and delivery of the project lies...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Card (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In response to the Deputy’s question, I can confirm that neither my Department nor any of the bodies under its aegis have plans to make services or payments dependent on the mandatory use and production of the Public Services Card. The Public Services Card offers a standard way of identifying customers that will reduce the administrative burden both on the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy points out, the employees concerned are not public servants. Questions relating to the Community Employment scheme and the State pension age should be addressed to my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 283 and 284 together. The Programme for a Partnership Government committed to additional capital investment over the period of the Capital Plan to 2021, to be allocated on the basis of the outcome of the review of the Capital Plan. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement 2017, Government will invest a further €4.1 billion in key...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government concluded negotiations with the unions and associations representing public servants on the 8th of June this year, and the Workplace Relations Commission issued a set of proposals entitled the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020. This draft Agreement provides for the further phased unwinding of the FEMPI measures over a number of years. The current...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 286 to 292, inclusive, and 294 together. Last May the Government published a document setting out in detail its approach and the structures it had put in place to ensure a strategic and whole-of-Government response to Brexit. 'Ireland and the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union: The Government’s Approach'...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Staff (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Brexit issues in my Department are the responsibility of the Department's Brexit/EU/North South Unit. There are currently no posts vacant in the Unit.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), for which my Department has responsibility, place a priority on stakeholder engagement through a variety of structures. A key feature of ESIF Programmes, including the cross-border PEACE and INTERREG programmes, is the Programme Monitoring Committees which are comprised not only of representatives of Government Departments...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has responsibility for the EU-funded cross-border programmes, PEACE and INTERREG. The Department has been working with the Managing Authority for the two programmes - the Special EU Programmes Body, one of the North South bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement - on the implications of Brexit for the Programmes. Research undertaken or commissioned by the SEUPB and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (11 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Mid-Year Expenditure Report sets out the pre-Budget expenditure ceiling for my Ministerial Vote Group of €943 million for current expenditure and €176 million for capital expenditure. This represents the spending baseline for examination of my Department's budgetary priorities for 2018. As outlined in the Mid-Year Expenditure Report, the increases planned in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (26 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme provides relief from VAT and Vehicle Registration Tax (up to a certain limit), an exemption from motor tax and a grant in respect of fuel, on the purchase of an adapted car for transport of a person with specific severe and permanent physical disabilities. To qualify for the Scheme an applicant must be in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (26 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the provision of enhanced online and telephone services has resulted in a reduced demand for the traditional 'walk-in' services to public offices. The number of personal callers has fallen by 64% since 2008. Taxpayers are choosing different channels to the traditional 'walk-in' services and are getting the information and assistance they require in a way that...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (26 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Seafarers’ Allowance is granted to individuals who meet the qualifying conditions as set out in Section 472B of the Taxes Consolidation Acts 1997.  In order to qualify for the allowance, a taxpayer must be a “qualifying individual” who holds a “qualifying employment ....... the duties of which are performed wholly on board a sea-going ship on an...