Results 10,201-10,220 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Similar to all expenditure, annual allocations for Tribunals and Commissions are agreed with Departments as part of the Estimates campaign. In addition, this Department receives reports on expenditure on Tribunals and Commissions on a bi-monthly basis. Expenditure, as reported for 2013, is detailed in the following table.   Tribunal/Commission Department Total Commission to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Bodies (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: My Department is working with relevant Departments and NewEra (in respect of the companies for which NewEra has responsibility) to review shareholder management and oversight arrangements applying in the commercial State sector. Shareholder expectation letters have been, or will be, sent by parent Department Ministers to State companies. These letters set out the views and expectations of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that, other than one staff member in the Valuation Office, no civil or public servant in my Department, or those under my remit, on career breaks at the time of the Haddington Road Agreement, lost their right to return to their old positions. The following table outlines the position regarding the Valuation Office: Valuation Office Staff...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Functions (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I have limited the response to services received from, or provided to, other Government Departments for 2014. Following its establishment in 2011 my Department entered into an administrative arrangement with the Department of Finance whereby the Department of Finance continued to organise all accommodation arrangements for the two departments...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Moratorium on Recruitment and Promotion in the Public Service as necessarily restricted the level of new recruitment and promotions in the Public Service in order to help reduce and control the Exchequer pay bill.  Persons on maternity leave from the Public Service are, in general, deemed to be employees while on maternity leave and as such in the normal...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: An actuarial valuation was carried out earlier this year by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to update the accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions. The key result of the exercise is that the total accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions is now estimated at €98bn as at December 2012. This compares with the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Sick Leave (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The new sick leave arrangements apply to approximately 278,800 FTE in the public service.  This includes public servants in the education sector, the health sector, the local government sector, the civil service, An Garda Síochána, and the non-commercial semi-state bodies. The main category of public servant to which the new sick leave arrangements do not apply are...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Competitions to select candidates for appointment to posts as Administrative Officers in the Civil Service took place in 2012 and 2013. In 2012 there were six specialist streams - Banking and Finance; Tax Policy; Law; Human Resources; Economics; and Accountancy. In 2013 there were five streams with no recruitment to Accountancy from the 2013 competition. The following...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Appointments (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question the following tables outline the total number of new appointments with a breakdown of grade, made in my Department, and those under my aegis, from July 2011 to date in 2014 as the Deputy will be aware that my Department was only formally established on 6July 2011. I would also like clarify that as part of the rollout of our essential reform agenda,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Appointments (17 Sep 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Department of the Public Service Circular 6/1984 - Private Secretaries and Confidential Clerical Assistants sets out instructions concerning private secretaries and confidential clerical assistants. The circular provides that the persons selected to act as Private Secretary should be drawn from the grades of Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer or Administrative Officer. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Relief Schemes Funding (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Cork County Council submitted an application in 2013 under the Office of Public Works (OPW) Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme for funding to carry out a flood risk assessment and to produce an outline design of flood relief proposals for Ballinhassig. The OPW wrote to the Council in August of last year indicating that it was not in a position to approve funding as...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 to 279, inclusive, and 281 and 282 together. The key objective of the Haddington Road Agreement is to facilitate an underlying cost reduction of €1 billion in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill by 2016. The clear measure on which the delivery of the Haddington Road Agreement must be judged, therefore, is the impact that the various measures...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions Levy (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) was introduced on 1 January 2011 under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010. PSPR is an actual reduction of pension, rather than a levy or deduction from pension. This means there is no actual flow of funds to the Exchequer or to the public finances generally from PSPR, and therefore there is no annual time series of PSPR...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is being developed as an integrated cross-Government service to build capacity and expertise and to enhance the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making. The goals of the new Service are to:  - develop a professional economic and evaluation service that will provide high standards of economic and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies Mergers (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, in 2011 the Government undertook a wide ranging and detailed review of State agencies across the public service, and this review process formed the basis of the State agency rationalisation programme.  This unprecedented programme of reform has resulted in almost 190 fewer State agencies, and there are a number of further...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministerial Adviser Appointments (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The table below sets out the salary for the two Advisors in my Department. One Special Adviser, Mr Ronán O'Brien, was appointed at a single point salary, currently at €106,880, having regard to his previous earnings immediately before taking up this position.  Name Title Salary (on commencement) Anne Byrne Special Adviser (D/PER) €85,608, currently...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 286 and 287 together. The Public Service Reform Plan aims to secure €20 million in enhanced service efficiencies and value-for-money from the rationalisation programme; a target that will be achieved.  The bulk of the savings are derived from a reduction in the number of public servants working in the merged entities and from other administrative...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Remuneration (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that no bonus payments were made to staff under the aegis of my Department in 2013 or to date in 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Appointments to State Boards (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware in 2011 the Government introduced new arrangements for the appointment of State board members.  Under the new arrangementsDepartments now invite expressions of interest on their websites from the public in vacancies on the boards of bodies under their aegis. It is open to all members of the public regardless of gender, political affiliations or geographical...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Appointments to State Boards (17 Jul 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that no chairperson appointed to State Boards under the aegis of my Department since March 2011 has appeared before their relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee.