Results 2,421-2,440 of 33,118 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I would respectfully say “No”. I would do so for two reasons. The first is that the budget process is not just about allocating to Departments on the basis of need, and it is also based on the availability of money and resources. We have to allocate money based on all of the different competing demands that are there. The second point is to reiterate the value of the last...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I disagree. The Deputy has to look at what we are doing with our health budgets beyond what happens in any given year. If he looks at where we have been since 2019, the figures are worth repeating. Excluding and stripping out the value of disability services, because they have now been moved out of the Department of Health to the Department of Children-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: No problem. The increase in cash terms is €7.4 billion. That is a very significant increase in the funding that was made available to our health services over a number of years, and it was made available to them because they need that. If we look at where matters stand in terms of healthcare staff and the number of people who work there, we now have 22,000 more people working in our...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The majority, though not all, of the funding that health got during the pandemic has been kept because we realise the healthcare environment has changed because of the pandemic. I know the Deputy wishes to come in again. I will make one last quick point with regard to shocks and how things can change. One thing that I acknowledge is different to what we thought 2023 would look like is...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I do indeed and I will make two quick points before we go to the vote. I travel to London a bit and I am aware of the strong Irish community that is there. I lived in London myself for many years. I would be very surprised if those living in the heart of London were finding Dublin more expensive, I have to say. I would be very surprised, given the size and the cost of Dublin itself. I...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I am grand. I think I was just concluding my response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, so I am all done.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: It is based on advice I get from my officials where we look at the funding made available to ELS in the previous year. Then there is our expectation and analysis regarding how this has changed. The main components we would look at in this context are where we are with demographics and what the demand for services will be. The key items we would look at for several of our larger Departments...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a standard feature of the engagement we have on the level of the ELS. It is a standard feature. The change in the ELS that is made available to a Government Department is a core part of the budget negotiation process. It is no different from the engagement I have with any other Department. Many Departments, at the start of the process, make the case for a higher level of the ELS...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy did the novel thing of asking me not to interrupt before I had even done so or considered doing so. He did something that was not novel by accusing me of putting spin on something when, of course, he is attempting to do that himself. If he ever has the opportunity to be involved in an Estimates process, and I hope he has so that he has the opportunity to reconcile his rhetoric...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Hold on. The Deputy did not allow me to interrupt him so I am going to ask for the same courtesy, though in my case I did not even speak. What we attempt to do over a number of weeks is to close the gap. The Deputy made a point about the Supplementary Estimate. Of course I acknowledge that the funding needs and the funding challenge for the Department of Health was considerable. This...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: First, it is not up to the Deputy to decide if I am let respond or not. That is for the Chair. I would just make that very clear to him. I do not have to await his guidance as regards whether I come in or not. That is for Deputy Durkan.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is all too happy to interrupt when a point is made back to him.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not a defensive point at all to remind the Deputy he is not the Chair. I am more than happy to do it. The Deputy made the point regarding facts and the need for facts. I am happy to lay out a few facts for the Deputy. It appears what he is trying to do is engender a sense of drama from documents that have already been shared with me, prepared for me and are already in the public...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Supplementary Estimates for 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The great thing is that people will indeed make up their own minds and the facts are the facts as I have described the Estimates process.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand from the clarification kindly provided by the Deputy this query relates to members of Interview/Selection Boards in the Public Appointments Service. The following rates are payable to members of Interview/Selection Boards in the Public Appointments Service. These rates have been in place since the 1st July 2013. Retired Public Servants (on pension): Grade ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (6 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: During 2023, the staff of my Department have worked collaboratively on a wide range of policies and initiatives to deliver on the strategic goals set out in the Department's new Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 to drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland under three key strategic goals: Enhancing Governance; Building Capacity;...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: No.

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: You are in the wrong party then.

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I articulate my support for the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and for this motion as a Government colleague and as a TD for Dublin Central. Before I outline the reasons for my support for the Minister, I want to address what was a disgraceful and at times disturbing speech by the Leader of the Opposition. In her speech, she alleged that it was up to two weeks before Gaelscoil Choláiste...