Results 10,701-10,720 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Leaders' Questions (5 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: -----to solve the issues to bring us from a very difficult position to a position of solvency, which we have now arrived at. We have tried to do that and have done that in as compassionate and open a way as we can. Have we made mistakes? Yes, and I agree with Deputy Calleary that the handling in terms of the administration and some of the letters people got is unacceptable. It is...

Leaders' Questions (5 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is what is being developed now by the Department of Health and by the Minister for Health and he is going to come back to Government within the next fortnight with those criteria so that we can put in a rational, compassionate, national scheme that is not determined by where one lives in this country, but on the real medical demands upon every household.

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We have centralised procurements and will have a handle on what we spend when buying goods and services for the State. This will probably be the first time we have a comprehensive picture so that different State agencies do not buy goods and services from the same supplier at different rates. Less than 5% of the overall public procurement spend is now won by foreign companies. In excess...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I welcome the broad support for the work of the Office of Government Procurement. Not only will it save money for the State and the taxpayer, something that Deputy Naughten always espouses, but it is more efficient. It will make SMEs more efficient. It has already done so. Between 2012 and 2013 we have increased the participation rate of SMEs overall. We have more than maintained the...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I do not know whether Deputy Kyne is a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It would be useful for that committee to invite Mr. Quinn, the chief procurement officer, to explain what he is doing. I think the Deputy would be excited by it. This is a very important initiative in the reform agenda to do things more efficiently and well. The Deputy asked...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The largest category of allowances form a significant element of the overall taxable and pensionable remuneration of staff, especially in the groups of which we are aware, including gardaí, firefighters, prison officers, the Defence Forces and teachers. It is neither practical nor reasonable to take away unilaterally a big chunk of somebody's income. That is the long and short of it....

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 11 together. Public procurement is governed by EU and national rules, the aim of which 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 against particular candidates on grounds...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: None of this will be optimally delivered until we emerge from the crisis and are able to start investing again in objective need. We have a much better profile of where and how services are delivered. Have I got 30 seconds?

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The clock is wrong.

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Sorry, I was confusing myself.

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Deputy for the question. More than 1,100 allowances were notified to my Department under the review of public service allowances and premium pay. Departments were notified in September 2012 of details of the Government decision regarding the outcome of the review. Approval for payment of an allowance to a new beneficiary pending the outcome of the review was withdrawn from 31...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is right.

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I agree with the Deputy. My first budget announcement was that we could realistically target 5%, and that is where the figure of €75 million came from. The Deputy was on the committee which examined allowances and he knows that when we drill down to see what are allowances, this is a completely different issue. I do not have time to go into detail with the Deputy but within the...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I agree with the Deputy. We have had this discussion with regard to regional disparity and it is a fact, but it is not possible to resolve that overnight. If, for historic reasons, there are different structural bases for local authorities and the way they approach staff development has been quite different over the decades, it will not be undone overnight. One of the key issues is...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Each Department has what we call an ECF or employment control framework. They can deploy or make an application to my Department for sanction for how that overall framework meets the demands as they perceive them at service delivery level. Therefore, local authorities would make representations to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which would look at how the...

Other Questions: State Properties (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are two discrete and separate issues. One is dealing with homelessness, and we have a strategy to do that over the next three years. Then there is the normal housing situation, which is also now an acute problem that we need to address separately. They overlap but they are two separate issues. I agree with what has been said about Part V. I have heard first-hand testimony from...

Other Questions: Public Service Reform Plan Update (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: This Government has had to address a challenging fiscal situation. Since its peak in 2009, gross voted expenditure has been reduced by 13.5%, from €63.1 billion in 2009 to €54.6 billion last year, with a further reduction budgeted for this year. As part of this consolidation, the public service Exchequer pay bill has been reduced by approximately 22%, from...

Other Questions: State Properties (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I largely agree with what the Deputy has said. There is not a huge array of available properties or properties suitable for housing in the Office of Public Works, OPW, however. I will send the Deputy a detailed letter on this because I will not be able to give her all the information now. There are 440 properties in the OPW property portfolio deemed habitable, the majority of which are...

Other Questions: State Properties (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Again, I strongly agree with the Deputy that we have a real supply issue which is manifested by increasing rents in Dublin which are pushing people, including those dependent on rent subsidy, out of the market in Dublin and surrounding areas. There is a lesser impact in our own county, Wexford, as of yet. It is an issue we have to address. How do we address the supply issue? I have not...

Other Questions: State Properties (4 Jun 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 15 together. The Office of Public Works, OPW, on behalf of the State, manages a large and diverse property portfolio which ranges from office accommodation to heritage properties, visitor centres and Garda stations, among others. There are a number of vacant properties within this portfolio. The majority of vacant properties are recently closed Garda...