Results 4,661-4,680 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: On the question of tax, we have a programme for Government commitment that I strongly support. If we were to have a static tax system in which no changes were made at a time of rising incomes, it would be the equivalent of an increase in income tax. I do not believe it is fair that workers who earn that little bit more would then be paying more than half that in tax through USC, income tax...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: We are not going to agree a new public service pay deal here; it will only be done at the WRC. Those very issues the Deputy legitimately raised are the subject of discussions at this very moment. We need to allow that process to take its course and conclude and, hopefully, it will reach a successful conclusion. I want a deal. It is in everyone's interests to have industrial peace and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations for Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the national development plan, rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: In agreeing an NDP out to 2030 and setting capital budgets for each Department out to 2025, we now have a multi-annual framework that will enable Ministers and their Departments to plan the delivery of vital infrastructure projects over a number of years. At €12 billion this year, we have the largest ever capital budget and there is an obligation on every Department to ensure we are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: On that point, as the Deputy may be aware, we are setting up a new climate division within my Department because we sit at the centre of government and have a key role in ensuring Government policy will be applied consistently throughout the Departments. Agreeing the multi-annual capital framework has enabled Departments to undertake that co-ordinated forward planning he talked about. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The special leave with pay scheme was an exceptional intervention, which was warranted back in March 2020 because of the need to ensure people who contracted Covid did not have to go to work and would be paid accordingly. It was never designed as an instrument in itself to deal with long Covid, which was not even recognised at the time as being in existence. We have the standard public...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Minister for Health is acutely conscious of this issue and there is work on it ongoing within his Department. There are legacy cases of people who, unfortunately, contracted Covid, quite possibly in the workplace, at a time when the risks were not fully known. They went to work to protect everybody else. The Department of Health is working on proposals that will be shared with my...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan for the question. Public service pay has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the Croke Park agreement was negotiated in 2010. These collective agreements have helped to ensure public pay is managed in a sustainable, affordable and orderly manner. These agreements have also enabled significant reform of public services and changes to work practices....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan. As we stand here today in the Chamber, the officials from my Department are in negotiations with the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to see if new pay arrangements can be agreed. I do not want to say anything that would be unhelpful to that process. I hope it comes to a successful conclusion. We are entering a critical phase in those...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I have acknowledged publicly the need to go beyond terms of the current agreement. This is why those negotiations are under way today, and it is hoped they will come to a successful conclusion shortly. The backdrop is challenging in a number of respects. I have acknowledged the impact of inflation on the living standards of workers, both public-sector and private sector workers. There is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Ryan for raising this important issue. I will take this opportunity once again to acknowledge and pay tribute to the immense contribution made by our public servants, in particular across our health services, during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their efforts ensured we kept services to the public and to the vulnerable in our society running, to the greatest extent...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Inflation/Supply Chain Co-operation Framework sets down the approaches and the parameters within which the parties to a public works contract can operate to determine the additional costs attributable to inflation and to share that financial burden in a proportionate manner. The Office of Government Procurement has published guidance material, template letters of agreement and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Functions (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: In recognition of the scale and urgency of the challenge of meeting Ireland’s climate action targets, a new Climate Action Division has been established within the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Climate Action is a key Programme for Government commitment and the Civil and Public Service will play a central role in driving the changes necessary to achieve net zero by...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget 2022 (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Budget 2022 made provision for up to €7 billion in funding to continue our response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including spending under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Just under €3 billion of this was allocated to Departments at the time of the Budget, with a further €96 million in the Revised Estimates for Public Services (REV) 2022, leaving a balance of some...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Cost of Living Issues (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Budget 2022 included a number of measures to support citizens with increased costs of living. These measures amounted to over €1 billion and covered a wide range of areas, including income supports, supports for healthcare, energy, housing, families with children and education. The economic context has become more challenging in recent months with the conflict in Ukraine...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Public service pay has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the Croke Park Agreement was negotiated in 2010. These collective agreements have helped to ensure that public pay is managed in a sustainable, affordable and orderly manner. These agreements have also enabled significant reform of public services and changes to work practices. The value of public pay deals to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Policy (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Fiscal Council in their recent Fiscal Assessment Report, have considered the economic and budgetary projections and in this report have provided a view on spending rules in an inflationary environment. I, along with my colleague the Minister for Finance, will consider this report. The Minister for Finance will provide a formal reply in the coming weeks. Regarding spending rules, our...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flexible Work Practices (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: In the case of the Civil Service, remote working will be facilitated into the future on a blended basis. In this context, my Department, in collaboration with Civil Service employers, Trade Unions and Staff Associations, has developed a Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations. The Framework focuses on the longer-term approach to remote working in the Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Green Public Procurement Policy is the responsibility of the Minister for Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport. In this context, my colleague, Ossian Smyth T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement Policy, is actively engaged in promoting sustainable public procurement and ensuring that relevant guidance is available to guide public procurement...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Service Level Agreements (16 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: All Public Bodies are obliged to treat public funds with care and to ensure that the best possible value for money is obtained (including the appropriate consideration of alternative options) whenever public money is being spent or invested. It is the responsibility of the relevant Government Department to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all required procedures...