Results 541-560 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Risk Management (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I agree it takes too long to reach decisions on these schemes. It is similar to a planning application. An application is made, and there is a period of time for submissions and public consultation. If additional information is required, we have to go back out, take submissions and listen to the public again. When the public consultation periods and additional information are over, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The current Civil Service disciplinary code applies to all civil servants. The code sets out the arrangements for dealing with disciplinary matters in the Civil Service. It is ensures that all civil servants are aware that if there is a failure to adhere to the required standards of conduct, work performance and attendance, the disciplinary procedure set out in the code will apply. Senior...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Listening to this debate people may get the impression that Secretaries General are not subject to any kind of disciplinary framework or oversight. That is not true. Under the Civil Service disciplinary code 13 separate sanctions are outlined covering everything from verbal warning, written warning, final written warning, extension of the period of validity of a warning, deferral of an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: If anything, the Secretaries General should be held to a higher standard than other Civil Servants because they have so much influence and because they are paid so much, and because they are people who set an example for everybody else. Often in an organisation, the personality, behaviour and character at the head of it flows down and is reflected in the behaviours of all the people who...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Labour Court (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The implementation of specific recommendations, awards or adjudications from the Labour Court or other equivalent industrial relations bodies, are matters for the relevant employer or Department, as appropriate, in the first instance. The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has responsibility for the terms and conditions of civil servants, as provided for under section...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Risk Management (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Although this question is about flooding, it is not for my colleague, Deputy O'Donovan, to answer because it is a question for the consenting authority, who is the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. I refer to previous updates on this matter given to the House regarding the consent process for the River Deel flood relief scheme, prepared by the Office of Public Works under the Arterial Drainage...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Risk Management (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I appreciate and understand the feelings of Deputy Conway-Walsh's constituents on this matter. It has taken a long time to reach consent for this scheme because it is such a large scheme and has to be done under the Arterial Drainage Act. We have to follow the law. The role the Minister is playing is similar to the role of An Bord Pleanála. We are at the stage, having received final...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Policy (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: As Ireland has committed to achieving ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, with key milestones in 2030 and 2050, the Government's assessment of any new investments it is considering making should consider the impact these investments will have on greenhouse gas emissions. Including a valuation of the cost that will be borne to eliminate any emissions a project may give rise...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Policy (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The updated guidelines on the shadow price of carbon will be published by the end of the year. The Deputy discusses the different ways to measure the price of carbon. He is absolutely right. We could use the emissions trading scheme price, which changes all the time on international markets, or look at what the carbon tax is set at. One thing to be considered is that it is not just one...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Policy (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The public spending code is being revised, restructured and simplified. The infrastructure guidelines are being updated since they were last issued in 2019, the ones that relate to the shadow price of carbon. I think the Deputy is alluding to the shadow price of nature as well. Biodiversity has a value. That probably would have been a strange thing to say ten years ago but people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: That is a very detailed supplementary question. The Deputy will appreciate that I do not have all the details to hand. I could not do justice to the question by answering it orally right now but I will provide all the column headings according to all the questions the Deputy has asked and will give him in tabulated form the answer to his question in consultation with my colleague, Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The one-stop shops are now up to speed. We have delivered double the number of retrofits in this period of the year compared to the same period last year. We need to do that. The retrofit programme for the decade involves an exponential increase in the number of retrofits being delivered until we reach 500,000 homes retrofitted by 2030. We cannot do that without having a large programme...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the NDP, which was published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the EU. In 2023, almost €13 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action. Achieving value for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Earlier this evening I spoke about the ESRI review. Part of the renaming of the Department to include NDP delivery involves asking an external agency to look at the exact question the Deputy asked, namely, what the barriers are to NDP delivery. We have asked the ESRI to assess what constraints we are reaching, what capacity constraints we have, what changes we might need to make and how to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will start with Deputy Durkan. Certainly, there are some types of investment that are deflationary, such as providing more housing for example. The delivery of the projects can help reduce inflation. There is a wide variety of inflationary effects depending on what you are investing in, and how much labour is involved is a part of it. That is the analysis we are looking at. I think...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: National Strategic Objective, NSO, 8 relates to the transition to a low carbon and climate-resilient society. The next decade is critical in order to address the climate crisis and we have significantly stepped up our climate ambition by committing to reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Action Plan 2023, which was published in December 2022, sets out the actions,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2024 (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I agree that investing money in the healthcare system has a positive return on investment. I know the Ministers for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and Health are carefully reading the words of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council on that. To give an example of the words following that, the Department of Heath agreed to regrade public health doctors to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The quantum of our capital investment in this country is unprecedented. Our capital investment is approaching 5% of GNI*. I do not know of any other EU country that is providing that level of investment. At the same time, we are running a surplus, and are right to do so, and some money is being put aside to protect the economy in the event that our corporate taxes turn out to be a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The risk is that we increase capital expenditure beyond where we are now and get nothing in return. If we are in a position of full employment, where there is nobody available to do the work, and we increase the investment into a sector, we may receive back the same quantity of output - in other words, the same number of houses and hospital are built - but prices, wages or costs are pushed...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2024 (28 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government has overseen unprecedented levels of additional investment into our health services in recent years. Funding on a like-for-like basis, excluding disabilities, has risen by €7.4 billion from 2019 to 2024. This is equivalent to an average annual increase of 9% in spending. This investment has facilitated considerable expansion of...