Results 6,021-6,040 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Minister for Health is developing the general scheme of legislation to provide for the continuation of a scheme that is tantamount or equivalent to the cross-border directive in order that the services can continue to be availed of. I want to finish the point on the cataracts and I acknowledge that it is not the only issue. In addition to the enhanced facilities at the South...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I assure the Deputy that funding is not the constraint. The cost of the scheme in 2020 was €15.4 million. In the context of a healthcare budget of €22 billion, funding is not the issue. The scheme is demand led and the costs depend on how many people avail of the services under the cross-border directive or the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme. It is important to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Construction Industry (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As I said earlier, capital expenditure is at an all-time high in the history of the State, with a commitment to maintaining and further increasing this over the lifetime of the Government. The overall level of capital expenditure in 2021 stands at almost €11 billion when capital carryover is included. Efficient public capital investment means quality investment decisions supported...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Government's commitment is backed up by its actions. We are investing a record amount in public house-building. That is appropriate. When this country was much poorer, our local authorities and councils had a strong track record of building public housing and we need to get back to doing that again. In 2019, fewer than 6,000 public houses were built. This year, funding has been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. A key focus of the review of the national development plan, NDP, is on the capability and capacity of the public service to deliver the ambitious targets for investment that are set out in the plan. Building on recent reforms such as the update of the public spending code, this Government has initiated a suite of reforms to strengthen the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I agree that the focus needs to be on delivery. To be fair to the public sector, the independent report funded by the European Commission found many examples of excellence. It found many examples of the wider public sector having the capacity to deliver major capital projects. That includes Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which has a good track record of delivering road projects and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: There will be an impact from the shutdown of the construction sector for the first four months of the year. That has impacted on the delivery of projects and spending so some timelines will be impacted. In the last crisis, capital investment was cut by about 60% from peak to trough. We are maintaining and building on an elevated level of capital expenditure. We believe that it will be at...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. The total level of capital expenditure, along with the sectoral allocations for areas such as housing, is currently under consideration as part of the ongoing review of the national development plan. That process has yet to be completed and I do not want to pre-empt any decisions that will be made in the coming weeks on foot of that review being...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy. The funding we are providing in the current year is sufficient to deliver the direct build of 9,500 new social homes in our country. When we compare that to the last year for which we have full figures in the pre-Covid context, 2019, that figure was less than 6,000 units actually built. This year, the funding is provided for local authorities and approved housing bodies...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: Thank you Deputy for this question. To provide some background to this issue, you will be aware that counsel fees were reduced in both 2009 and 2010 respectively as part of a broader Government agenda to reduce escalating legal costs. A further reduction was imposed in 2011 primarily to control spending under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme. These reductions were underpinned by Government...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 (the 2012 Act), represents the delivery of a key structural reform measure. Among other things, the 2012 Act provided for the creation of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme (Single Scheme), the extension of pension abatement across the public service and the extension of the 40 years' (or equivalent)...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Programme for Government (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Programme for Government recognises the special economic and social role that agriculture plays in Ireland, but also commits to the creation of schemes that will encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way. This is with the aim of developing a sustainable Irish agricultural sector that protects the environment and aligns with emerging consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: In the period 2014 to 2019 there was increased expenditure on public services and infrastructure, with steady increases in current expenditure underpinned by sustainable increases in revenue, and significant growth in capital investment reflecting the reductions over the period 2008 to 2014 and the importance of capital investment in delivering on social and economic objectives. This...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have statutory responsibility for the terms and conditions of service, including remuneration, of civil servants, as set out in the Civil Service Regulation Acts. In meeting these responsibilities as regards the terms to apply for recruitment to the post of Secretary General in the Department of Health, I engaged with the Taoiseach, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Policies (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The matter of a four day working week has been raised by the Four Day Week Ireland campaign led by Forsa, ICTU and other civil society groups. Correspondence on this issue has been received in my Department and I note that the campaign has engaged with the Tanáiste on their proposals. In the context of the civil and public service, there are two main concerns in considering a move to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Provision (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department is currently developing the next phase of public service reform, to follow on from Our Public Service 2020 (OPS2020)- the development and innovation framework for the Public Service. It is in this context that we are considering how to best progress the Programme for Government commitment to “(I)ntroduce a plain language requirement on all...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: It is important to acknowledge from the outset that by any objective measure the Freedom of Information system as it stands appears to be operating effectively and delivering on its goal of openness, transparency and accountability for public bodies. The volume of requests processed annually by public bodies has almost doubled since the introduction of the 2014 Freedom of Information Act. In...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 161 together. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is responsible for the salaries of staff employed under the Secretarial Assistance Scheme who provide administrative support to Members of the Oireachtas. The Deputy will be aware that SIPTU has been engaging with the Commission in relation to the terms and conditions of its members who are...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Children's Hospital (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: The Minister for Health and his Department have oversight responsibility in relation to the National Children’s Hospital. I understand that the Minister for Health is in the process of preparing an update on this matter for Government.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic (17 Jun 2021)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121, 122, 150 and 157 together. On 28 May 2021 Ireland’s draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan was approved by the Government and submitted to the European Commission. It will now be assessed by the Commission which will, within two months, make a recommendation to the Council of the European Union, on the basis of which implementation of the...