Results 4,441-4,460 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: -----including on the question of the actual-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I understand that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I will always answer parliamentary questions as openly as I possibly can. The truth is that negotiations did not get to the point where specific dates for various increases were being discussed or agreed. Of course this has a direct impact on the spread of the overall cost in three calendar years. I do not want to mislead the Deputy or the committee. If he tables a question we will answer...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Our intention is to leave the capital ceilings unchanged as per the national development plan.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: These figures are on page 44 of the national development plan. The core direct Exchequer capital for the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government is €3.4 billion for 2022 and €3.516 billion for 2023. It is in table 4.2 on page 44. The intention is that we will maintain the ceilings-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: That is our current position.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: When we look at the run rate at present we see underspends in some Departments, including housing, because of delays in getting certain projects off the ground and getting various schemes started. It is my expectation, and certainly the view of the Minister with responsibility for housing, that there are adequate resources. We may well see a carryover from the housing budget into next year...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Our role is to set the overall ceiling in the national development plan. This has been done for the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government as it has for other Departments. There is ongoing dialogue with the Vote section in the Department that manages the relationship with the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government. These issues are discussed on an ongoing basis...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: No. It is too early in the year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It is too early to say but, in the year to date, gross capital expenditure in the Department is €153 million below profile. That is almost 22% below profile, reflecting the fewer than anticipated claims received due to various issues that impact on delivery and getting schemes off the ground. We are only halfway through the year and the Department may well catch up. That remains to...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It is difficult to estimate it. We started with an unallocated contingency of just under €4 billion. There has been a significant drawdown and allocation of that in recent months. We had a difficult start to the year with Covid and the Omicron variant and now there is a resurgence of Covid. Much depends on the direction that will take in the months ahead in terms of healthcare and...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I will take that as it is a related question. There were brought to Government, laid before the House and published in each of the past two years. There is a legal requirement but it is not a legal requirement that it is done on budget day. It was done at the end of the year in each the past two years. As the Minister, Deputy Donohoe said, we were faced with exceptional circumstances and...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I have been part of the discussions at the Cabinet committee on housing on that issue, as well as all other housing related issues. I cannot give the Deputy a specific date as I do not know when the Minister intends to bring forward a proposal on that, but a proposal has not been made to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett's question about...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: What I am saying is that I have not seen the outcome of the review. I have not seen a report from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the issue, so I have not seen a quantification of what the cost would be of increasing the eligibility threshold by different amounts. I have acknowledged that in making any decision on policy, there is a need to consider what the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: What we are setting out here today is a framework. This is not made up of individual decisions across various Departments. That process is only now getting under way. That is the Estimates process. This is the framework. What we are saying is that the total of all of the collective decisions that we will make in the coming weeks has to be consistent with this framework. Today is about...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: In response, I would say that is an issue for the Estimates process. That process is now getting under way. Every Minister and Department will set out their priorities and I will go through all of them. To be fair to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in the last two budgets he has significantly increased the number of HAP places, and he has secured a lot of...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: To be honest, I think the priority is delivery. In the past two years, the construction industry was shut down for several months each year because of Covid. That had an impact on delivery. We ended up delivering about 20,000 units each year in 2020 and 2021. We know that we need far more than that. It is estimated that we need to deliver at least 33,000 units each year. I think the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Does the local authority plan to which the Deputy referred include the LDA pipeline and the AHBs?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Is the project fully approved and good to go?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement 2022: Discussion (14 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I do not think we can look at pay in isolation. I have always made the point that in agreeing a pay deal with the public sector there will also be a need to take account of what the Government has done to date on other cost of living measures and what it plans to do in the budget. All of the advice we have received from reputable bodies, domestically and internationally, has been not to...