Results 24,121-24,140 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Other Questions: Shared Services (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: To answer the Deputy's question on the Bill, it is my objective to take that Bill to Committee Stage before the summer recess. The Deputy and Deputy Fleming raised a number of points regarding it, although I believe he is broadly supportive of it. The National Shared Services Office has been in operation since 2014. As the Deputy is aware, the Bill does not propose any change regarding...

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the debate that the Deputy is referring to and have read literature on the matter. I will be careful in the commitments we make in this area. The Deputy referred to the 2013 study. What has changed since then is that, in some cases, due to the difference in the rate at which our country can afford to borrow, sourcing projects through public private partnerships so that...

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government at the time believed the use of that road would not be at a level which would make it viable for the State to build the bridge. That was the risk. The assessment the then Government got did not match up to the level of traffic that materialised on the M50. The Deputy has pointed to PPPs that have not delivered, but we should also point to the PPPs that have, such as...

Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The capital plan, when published in 2015, set out an Exchequer envelope of €27 billion for the period 2016 to 2021. The Government strongly recognised the need for increased investment in Ireland's public infrastructure and used economic growth at that point to increase capital expenditure. The provisional outturn of gross voted capital expenditure in 2016 was €4.1 billion....

Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Overall levels of capital expenditure have been the subject of much debate in this House. The Irish Business Employers Confederation, IBEC, recently published a commentary and views on the matter. It is important that we are clear on what the figures are. In 2013, the State invested €3.4 billion in capital expenditure. For 2017, it is €4.5 billion. It is an increase of...

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I have not yet heard any Deputy come into the House and criticise me for increasing expenditure ceilings to put more resources into the health service last year or make funding available to deal with flooding and the refurbishment of primary school buildings. If anything, every day I face criticism for not increasing them enough. There are continual demands for more expenditure in many...

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, I am confident that the expenditure ceilings for the health budget this year are robust. They need, however, to be tracked every single month, as they are. I engage in this matter with the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, who is as committed as I am. In respect of maintaining discipline on overall Government expenditure, it is evidenced by the fact that expenditure in the...

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Aggregate information on the future cost of each PPP project is available on my Department's website, but I will take the Deputy through the figures she has requested.  My Department is updating the projections for the future cost of these projects, with the assistance of the various sponsoring agencies, as part of the regular annual updating of PPP...

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Expenditure ceilings provide Departments with greater clarity regarding available resources. They also help underpin significant engagement on expenditure priorities throughout the year rebalancing the previous focus on one single budgetary event in October of each year. The Estimates process and the determination of expenditure ceilings now takes place as part of a whole-of-year budgetary...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is a recognition of that fact and the points the Deputy has raised that drove my Department to move to deal with the maintenance of PEACE and INTERREG funding on the day following the Brexit referendum. I have discussed that with the Deputy previously. We know that funding plays a vital role in supporting projects in his community, and on both sides of the Border, that have contributed...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I take the Deputy’s point. I am aware that the level of support that is needed is multifaceted. Deputy Smith referred to the impact of currency change. We know that is already having an impact on the competitiveness of Irish exports, in particular in the food sector. My view is that the bigger impact to be faced will be the nature of the negotiations that will take place on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The fiscal and policy context section of the capital plan, Building on Recovery, sets out the objectives of State investment in infrastructure. It emphasises the Government's commitment, through the capital plan, of supporting strong and sustainable economic growth and raising welfare and living standards for all. Promoting environmental sustainability is, of course, integral to achieving...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am making clear in all the engagement I have with other Government Departments that a vital consideration in any decisions we make is the contribution that public investment can make towards delivering our climate objectives. I have referred to this in the criteria that have been published to other Departments that indicate the way in which we will evaluate their proposals, and I continue...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I hope the considerations the Deputy has outlined, which I agree with, will be maintained across the coming period when many demands will be placed upon the Government for expenditure in different areas. As I referred to earlier when answering questions from Deputy Calleary, if one considers where we will be next year, while we do have resources available to make new investment choices,...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Smith for raising this matter. I remember very clearly the way in which he raised it at the Good Friday Agreement implementation committee where we had a discussion on it. Regarding our present position, in the capital plan, which Deputy Martin raised with me just a moment ago, we have laid out very clearly that a factor in decisions we will make is the effect that Brexit...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That is exactly my understanding of the timing in relation to it, that the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and the Department of Finance may make a revision on the figures that I have just shared with Deputy Calleary in June. That will be purely a determination for Deputy Noonan's Department. In terms of any likely change, Deputy Calleary is correct to state that the growth figures for this...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Brexit issues in my Department are co-ordinated centrally by the Department's Brexit/EU/North-South unit. The unit oversees Brexit work across the Department and acts as the contact point with the Department of the Taoiseach and other Departments. It is represented on the interdepartmental group on Brexit and related groups, and supports me in my work as a member of the Cabinet Committee on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We have the right personnel and the right vision in relation to this. To back up that assertion, I point to the fact that our national interest in the Border in relation to the movement of people has now been recognised in the draft negotiation mandate that has been provided by the European Council and has also been recognised in a mandate that was drafted by the European Parliament. Not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is good to hear Deputy Mattie McGrath make reference to the positive role of the European Union and the positive role that it has played, through the Single Market, in providing export markets-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: -----to the companies to which he referred. That Single Market and the support that those companies have received from Irish agencies has been crucial in allowing companies to grow and to the significant development that has taken place in the country over the past 40 to 50 years. The Deputy makes the point in relation to the Border. I repeat the point I made to him a moment ago. That...