Results 4,541-4,560 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It is now on a statutory footing and Government has approved Shanganagh, for example, which will provide almost 600 homes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy has opposed all of the affordable housing initiatives, including the shared-equity first home scheme. He is great at the rhetoric. He comes in here and talks about helping people to buy a home.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Every time the Government makes an intervention to assist people to buy a home, the Deputy stands against it. That is the reality. This is the only way of addressing this massive challenge that we face as a country. We acknowledge that for many people, home ownership now seems to be out of reach. We have to address that and bridge that gap. We do that through a massive public capital...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. She highlighted a number of individual cases that underline a real crisis for those individuals and families. If she wants to provide the details of those individual cases to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, I have no doubt that he will follow up. While the emergency accommodation system is undoubtedly under strain, emergency...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It will be addressed. We acknowledge the strain that is there in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation at this time. I attend all of the housing Cabinet committee meetings where we go into detail on all of the strands of this. The Government is working collectively, using every resource available to us to make sure that accommodation generally is made available to meet all...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: -----to get out of the market. Those are questions that need to be answered as well because we need an adequate supply of rental accommodation, which currently is falling. It falls to us in this House to make decisions that ensure that is a continued adequate supply of rental accommodation in the private sector. It is an important part of the overall system.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: For any family looking at costs it feels it cannot meet and that currently is above the income eligibility criteria for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, it should reach out for help to the Department of Social Protection. There is an additional needs payment available there and the cost of returning the child back to school is a qualifying cost. As the Deputy is aware, we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. As a Government, we do fund the ESRI, which does outstanding work. It is important that we have bodies such as the ESRI providing an independent analysis of what the Government is doing about the challenges we face as a country, and we take the output from the ESRI very seriously. The report's key conclusion is that interventions, including increased supply,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: There are income limits associated with this scheme. The Deputy quoted the lowest one. It depends on the number of children a person has. Certain incomes are excluded from consideration and are not reckonable, including housing assistance payment, working family payment, rent supports and so on. The Deputy is now advocating for the very families she believes should be paying 50% income...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: That is not going to fool anyone. The Government has adopted a coherent strategy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: This is an important intervention and we will do more in September when the budget comes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I would make the case that providing a free hot meal to a child in a DEIS school is real change. This Government has expanded the DEIS programme by the single largest amount ever, to include more than 300 schools. It is the right thing to do. Deputies have all issued press releases with the details of what schools in their constituencies were given DEIS band 1 and band 2 status in recent...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy McDonald for raising the issue of back to school costs, which are a serious issue for thousands of families across Ireland at this time. We have said all along, and we are sticking to this position, that the budget will be on 27 September. This week we published the summer economic statement, which sets out what the underlying position is with the public finances. It means...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are no former County Managers or former Chief Executive Officers of a local authority employed in my Department (including the Office of Government Procurement), under any employment terms. This is also the case with regard to the bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 to 52, inclusive, together. As the Deputy may be aware, the principle of abatement of a public service pension is long-standing within the rules of various public service pension schemes. Pension abatement is an important aspect of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 (the Single Scheme Act). The Act provides...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Special leave with pay for COVID-19 arrangements were introduced by my Department in March 2020 as a temporary measure in response to the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID pandemic. Special Leave with Pay has been used in lieu of sick leave across the Public Service to assist in the prevention of the possible onward spread of COVID-19 in the work premises. From 1 July 2022,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Process (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: The pre-budget 2023 submission referred to in the question arrived in my Department yesterday afternoon 5 July 2022. It will be examined, as all pre-budget submissions are, by my officials and relevant issues will be brought to my attention as necessary. I would however like to point out that the matter of funding the proposed investment for the organisation outlined would be an policy issue,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Special leave with pay for COVID-19 arrangements were introduced by my Department in March 2020 as a temporary measure in response to the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID pandemic. Special Leave with Pay has been used in lieu of sick leave across the Public Service to assist in the prevention of the possible onward spread of COVID-19 in the work premises. In relation to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Appointments to State Boards (5 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I wish to advise the Deputy that no Board members appointed to the State Boards under the remit of my Department are former County Managers or former Chief Executive Officers of a local authority.  Each of the three State Boards under the remit of my Department (the Data Governance Board, the National Shared Services Advisory Board and the Public Appointments Service...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (5 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: When the ‘Original’ S&C Scheme (formerly named widows’ and orphans’ contributory pension scheme) was introduced for female civil servants in 1981 on terms equivalent to those applicable to male civil servants, the beneficiaries were confined to the spouses and children of marriages that took place prior to the individual leaving public service employment. ...