Results 25,821-25,840 of 32,926 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Workers' Rights: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (1 Jun 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this motion. I will pick up on a comment made by Deputy Kelly. When he pointed to the reality of Sinn Féin's participation in the Northern Ireland Executive and its association and support-----

Workers' Rights: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (1 Jun 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for that direction. I will indeed.

Workers' Rights: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (1 Jun 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It is a fact that Sinn Féin has associated with political movements and parties across Europe that have inflicted damage on the conditions of workers, their levels of employment and their wages. Every time that any Member on the Government or Opposition benches draws attention to what the reality of Sinn Féin's policies would be if implemented elsewhere in Europe or, as it wants,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (1 Jun 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I would refer the Deputy to my answer of 19 May (PQ 10976/16), which sets out the Government's position.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the percentage increase was largest for those on low and middle incomes.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Those on higher incomes received a lower percentage increase than those on low incomes.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Cullinane's approach is clear. When I attempt to answer a question-----

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not want to do Deputy Howlin a disservice, but when I give Deputy Cullinane an answer that is different from what he wants, he does not want to hear it. I have already covered Deputy Howlin's question about pensions. I will not prejudge negotiations we might have in the future as to where benefits will go but we have an agreement in place until 2018. I have not set aside additional...

Other Questions: Lobbying Data (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The first two reporting deadlines for those who have lobbied designated public officials have now passed. Those who undertook any lobbying since 1 September 2015 were required to register and submit returns of their lobbying activity on the online register. I am very pleased with the level of compliance achieved in these initial return periods. There are currently more than 1,300...

Other Questions: Lobbying Data (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: My objective is to commence the review of the Act in September this year and to finalise it by February 2017. The reason we built in a review period was to deal with the kind of issues to which the Deputy referred.

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, significant advances were made in this area in 2014 when a radically revised system for State board appointments was introduced with the following key principles at its core: the promotion of wider access to opportunities on State boards; the establishment of detailed and comprehensive criteria for those roles; and the introduction of transparent and rigorous...

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I expect that all State boards covered by this Act will now be subject to its provisions. The first example of the new process will happen soon in the case of the Department of Health, where competent individuals will be put into important roles as chairpersons of State organisations in a transparent manner.

Other Questions: Programme for Government (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I have already answered Deputy Howlin's question but I am happy to repeat my answer, namely, that I will be reviewing the Estimates published for 2016 in light of where we stand now and will bring a recommendation to Government in that regard. As soon as I have Government support and agreement on the Estimates for this year, I will bring them before the Dáil. I am also conscious that...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Pay issues for public servants are currently determined within the constraints set by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Acts of 2009 to 2015 while the industrial relations environment is managed under the terms of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018, the Lansdowne Road agreement. The programme for Government contains a strong commitment to the...

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not. The Deputy is wrong.

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Will Deputy Calleary please repeat his first question?

Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: On the timeline, I will begin discussions with the stakeholders of the Lansdowne Road agreement in regard to the public service pay commission in the coming weeks. When the commission will be set up will depend on the input I get from stakeholders and I will keep the Deputy apprised of that. I do not wish to prejudge what people may say on that. In regard to engagement with pensioners...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. I will inform the Deputy if the position changes but I am not aware of any such plans. As to whether all the funding has been drawn down, I understand it has been drawn down in the sense that it was handed over after the financial transaction took place. Was the Deputy referring to the release of the funding to achieve the objective for which it was intended?

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer to that will vary according to which element is involved. Funding has been available for the objectives of programmes that operated between 2012 and 2014. I will revert to the Deputy on how moneys connected with the sale of Bord Gáis Energy and Aer Lingus will be released. I understand the principles governing the establishment of the connectivity fund were agreed by the...

Other Questions: Sale of State Assets (31 May 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Commission also acknowledged that Ireland's public finances have improved immeasurably. We have entered the preventative phase of deficit management. This is extraordinary progress when measured against the position we were in a number of years ago. I had hoped the Deputy would have acknowledged this progress when commenting on the need for capital investment. I have...