Results 7,581-7,600 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Irish Water Administration (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: I take note of the Deputy's proposal to abolish the commercial semi-State company, Irish Water. I am not sure what Sinn Féin wants to replace it with or what it wants to do to the staff. It would be useful if Deputy McDonald told the staff what she intends to do with them. Is she going to return them to local authorities, make them all redundant or just continue to pay them? If so,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Irish Water Administration (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: The Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 brought about a very substantial increase in the number of public bodies subject to the Ombudsman's oversight. It was the most significant extension of the Ombudsman's remit in 30 years and a priority objective for me, given that various Ombudsmen had been pressing for the extension for over 20 years. It brought some 180 additional public bodies, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that contracts are awarded to compliant businesses through the standard procedures contained in the procurement process. Thereafter the conditions of contract and the legislation governing the referenced areas ensure compliance, with oversight undertaken by the contracting authority concerned and the appropriate statutory...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: In June 2011, the Government introduced a general pay ceiling of €200,000  for future appointments to higher positions across the public service and a general pay ceiling of €250,000 forfuture appointments to CEO posts within Commercial State Companies. No sanctions have been issued for new appointments in excess of these pay ceilings. ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: The key issue faced by the Government in seeking to respond to the housing crisis or the recent flooding, etc., is not related to the availability of funding, but rather to the fiscal space available to the Government under the fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth which restrict the Government's ability to increase expenditure, including on capital projects. Any funding that would be...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: In accordance with the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2013, Expenditure Report 2016 published by my Department on Budget day outlines Ministerial Expenditure Ceilings for the three year period from 2016 to 2018.  The ceilings for 2016 have subsequently been revised by Government in line with the allocations for 2016 set out in the Revised Estimates Volume ("REV") 2016...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. It would be a breach of the EU rules for a public body to favour or discriminate in favour of a particular candidate on grounds such as existing relationship with the contracting authority that...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies Data (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: I refer the Deputy to the Report on the Implementation of the Agency Rationalisation Programme which is published on my Department's web site.  The Report provides information on what has been achieved in reducing the number of state bodies as set out in the 2011 Public Service Reform Plan, including savings. The Report published in December 2014, based on...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: From the period 2009 to 2013 the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Acts introduced pay reduction measures. These measures, together with the Public Service Pension Reduction implemented in January 2011, are estimated to have resulted in over €2.2bn in direct reductions in public service remuneration and pensions.  It is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: The issue of retirement age will become a more significant issue as the age of eligibility for the State Pension increases in the coming years, to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028. We need a policy framework to support longer working lives. We face challenging demographic related expenditure challenges in the coming years: the numbers aged 65 and over are set to increase from 570,000 in 2013 to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: Public Service Reform is a key element of the Government's overall strategy for recovery.  Led by my Department, the reforms delivered over the past five years have enabled us to maintain and improve public services in the face of the necessary reduction in staff numbers and budgets, while meeting increased demand for many services.  Importantly, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Provision (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: Following a period of retrenchment, staffing levels in the Public Service are increasing, and have been since December 2013.   Latest data shows that public service staff numbers increased by just under 5,000 in the first nine months of 2015, on foot of the 2015 Budget decisions, which also included a removal of the Moratorium on Public Service...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Living Wage (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: The most recent aggregate data (based on pay bands) available to the Department indicates that some 93% of all public service staff are on salary points in excess of €25,000 per annum. The suggested wage at €11.50 per hour based on the Civil Service 37 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of € 22,203. Data based on Civil Service staff...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform Plan Update (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: I understand that the Deputy is interested in Action 15 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan which aims to improve mobility arrangements in the civil and public service. Under the Civil Service Plan, my Department in conjunction with the Civil Service Management Board is examining ways to improve mobility.   As the Deputy will be aware there are currently no...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Investment (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: Comparison of investment in public services relative to the rest of the European Union needs to take into account the profound impact the economic crisis had on the public finances. The fiscal adjustment implemented in order that Ireland could successfully exit the troika programme and return sustainability to our public finances required significant expenditure reductions and tax increases....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Projects (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I announced the Government's Capital Plan on 29 September 2015 which outlined exchequer capital spending of €27 billion over the next six years. As the Deputy will be aware a range of projects and initiatives in County Wexford have been funded by the Government through the relevant line departments.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Promotions (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: I can confirm that five Clerical Officers were promoted to Higher Executive Officer in my Department, from a confined competition, since the eligibility criteria changed.  There have not been any Executive Officers promoted to Assistant Principal Officer from confined competitions. All promotion competitions in my Department are carried out in accordance with the Commission for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware unions representing CE Supervisors and Assistant Supervisors have sought the provision of Exchequer funding to implement a Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme dating back to 2008. However the position has remained that it is not possible for the State to provide funding for such a scheme to employees of private companies,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Targets (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 187, 188 and 191 to 196, inclusive, together. My Department has played a key role in ensuring Ireland met or exceeded its key fiscal targets in each year of the EU/IMF programme of financial support resulting in a successful exit from the programme in December 2013. Furthermore, Ireland is on track to exit the corrective arm of the Stability...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (19 Jan 2016)

Brendan Howlin: The key issue faced by the Government in seeking to deliver infrastructural projects continues to be the fiscal space available to Government under the fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth, which impacts on the Government's ability to increase expenditure, including on capital projects. Any funding that would be raised through the issuing of new Government Bonds, as suggested in the...