Results 2,961-2,980 of 33,118 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The census to which the Deputy refers reminds us all of the scale of change under way in our society and economy. From my experience of divestment programmes and procedures, I have seen the reason they do not happen or happen slowly is that the school community takes time to consider this process and does not always reach a view that a change in patronage is appropriate. We need a more...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a fair point. We put in place those measures to make a much needed, and I believe much valued, contribution to families at a time in which the cost of living and the increase in the cost of living was so urgent and causing such hardship. I am aware from Deputies on these benches of the anomaly to which Deputy Canney refers and also of the frustration that many families and pupils...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I emphasise that while this review is under way, we will continue to deliver against all of the commitments on the current scheme. I have no doubt that Bus Éireann and the Department of Education will do all they can to try to resolve individual issues that are developing. I cannot promise that we can resolve all of them, but I know everyone will do their best.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I am sure the Deputy would not be short of many great ideas regarding how to spend €1 billion in County Kerry. I am also sure he would be able to turn that money to very good effect. But on the point about €1 billion, it is important to make the case that during two of the three years that Deputy Healy-Rae refers to, we were dealing with a pandemic during which the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The sole reason as to why there were capital underspends for the year before last is that during that period the construction sector was not functioning in a normal way. That is the key reason.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I completely agree with the point Deputy Healy-Rae made about voids. In many ways, the term "void" is very misleading. It is an empty home. In Constitution Hill, at the heart of Dublin Central, a very different setting, I have seen the way in which properties that were described as voids have now been turned into homes for people who needed them. That is why the successful delivery of,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Respectfully, the maintenance of the moratorium on evictions in the rental sector ran the great risk over time of leading to even fewer rental properties being available.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Prolonging the eviction ban also ran the risk of even greater difficulty arising when it ended. That is the reason the Government made what we accept was a difficult decision, one that has been the subject of much explanation in the House and debate elsewhere. I wish to challenge Deputy Bacik on one point. She stated that our provision of 11,800 social homes, which is our ambition for...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: This is a matter with which I am familiar; Deputy Cannon has been raising it as well. I am sure he has been attending the same meetings as the Deputy and engaging with parents, pupils and teachers who are concerned about the issue. I acknowledge the scheme's importance and the valuable role it plays in supporting school access and supporting families. I also acknowledge the importance...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is right in being very clear in calling out crimes that are the subject of such trauma and sorrow. Like the Deputy, when I see the reports of the crimes and particularly the funerals and those mourning the loss of life because of the crimes, I find it difficult to comprehend. My human response is to look away briefly, particularly if the loss of life of children is involved. We...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for again raising what everybody in this House knows is such an important matter. I said previously that the decision to end the eviction moratorium was one of the most difficult and complex I have ever been involved in as a member of the Cabinet, but I am acutely aware and can see in my constituency that whatever difficulty was involved in making the decision was minor by...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy McDonald for raising what is an exceptionally sensitive and important report into the most difficult of circumstances possible. When the Minister, Deputy Harris, was briefing the Government on this report yesterday morning, it reminded me, and I am sure it has reminded all of us, that there are a set of tragic circumstances that I think are beyond the ability of most of us...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Supports (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Union’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), provides support to counter the adverse economic, social, territorial and, environmental consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. The application for BAR funding must set out the negative impacts of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, and how the measures carried out under the Fund alleviate...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have responsibility for the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme. This Scheme ordinarily provides for the payment of the following to public servants during periods of absence from work due to illness or injury:A maximum of 92 days on full pay in a rolling one-year periodFollowed by a maximum of 91 days on half pay in a rolling one-year periodThis...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Supports (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Union’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), provides support to counter the adverse economic, social, territorial and, environmental consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. The application for BAR funding must set out the negative impacts of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, and how the measures carried out under the Fund alleviate...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Funding (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 236 together. Ireland is expected to receive €915m in grants over the lifetime of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). In order to access this funding, Ireland has developed the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The RRF is a performance-based instrument with payment contingent on the satisfactory achievement of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: In the interest of safeguarding public projects that are already under construction and to mitigate the risks of significant losses being sustained by contractors, in May 2022 the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced details of the “Inflation Co-operation Framework" (the Framework) for those parties engaged under a public works contract. The Framework...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legal Aid (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, based on Government decisions and as part of a broader Government need to reduce costs across the public service, the Minister for Justice exercised powers conferred to them under section 10(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 to apply reductions to professional fees paid to barristers under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme in 2009, 2010 and 2011. ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Spending Code (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure; National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, my Department is responsible for the Public Spending Code (PSC), which sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Budgets (30 May 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: As set out in the fiscal monitor, the estimated underspend across the Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform Vote Group to the end of April 2023 was 9.1% or €46 million. The breakdown across the Vote Group is presented below. Variances v Profile to End April 2023 Variance, €000s Variance, % V11 – PUBLIC...