Results 11,421-11,440 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Chairman again has asked a number of questions. While different service delivery models are being sought, I note we already have a highly complicated matrix of delivery models. Speaking as a former Minister for Health, I can tell the Chairman that many of the services we provide in the health area built up over time on the basis of charitable organisations that provided services that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As I noted in my opening remarks, the issue of accountability is at the heart of the reform. When we pulled back the layers and considered everything that happened in the past, it often came down to a systems failure in which no one actually was accountable or no one was responsible. We use those words and throw them out but what do the words "accountable", "responsible" or "answerable"...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I know how many the Government wound up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: While the Deputy can ask the question, I get to answer it as I like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is the system. At the outset, some of my colleagues spoke of the bonfire of the quangos and so on. The point about reform is that people find difficult the minutiae and complexity of reform. Consequently, they decide to pick on something like increments, quangos or some totemic item that overall, is highly marginal. As for quangos, the vast bulk of non-governmental organisations that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Will I deal with your questions first, Chairman?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: On what is driving reform, both parties, in advance of the election, regarded the landscape we were facing as a broken economy but also as a broken policy and Administration. A reform agenda had to be at the core of recovery and that meant fixing not only the economic woes that had befallen us but also the administrative and oversight structures that had failed, as well as the political...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the Chairman and members of the joint committee for their attendance. As there other exciting counter-attractions, it is great to see a full house.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I should warn committee members that, having spoken to the media on the way in, short of murder, I do not think there are lines that will appear in the newspapers tomorrow from this committee, but we are conducting important business. The committee has played and will continue to play a valuable role in considering the public service reform agenda which is very much at the heart of what we...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There is no embargo on recruitment to the public service.  There are restrictions under the Moratorium and we have sought to reduce, in overall terms, the numbers employed in the public service, but there has also been and will continue to be recruitment into key positions across the system - in health, in education, in some areas of the Civil Service and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Security Checks (19 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy s question I can confirm that no office in my Department has been swept for electronic or any other type of surveillance or bugging equipment since the formation of this Government.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are 10 staff in my Department who are currently on a sabbatical/career break. The duration of leave applied for by staff can be broken down as follows: Length of Leave of Absence Number of Staff 0 - 6 months 0 6 - 12 months 1 1 - 2 years 2 2 - 3 years 3 3 - 4 years 1 4 - 5 years 2 5 years plus 1 Total 10

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff Sick Leave (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was established in July 2011. Details of sick leave statistics from July to December 2011 and 2012 are set out in the following table. - 2011 (July December) 2012 Total Uncertified Sick Days 73.73 135.87 Average Uncertified Sick Days by Employees 0.26 0.41 Total Certified Sick Days 720.31 1,264.05 Average Certified Sick Days by Employees...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The North/South Pension Scheme is the default pension scheme for employees in five of the six cross-border Implementation Bodies, and also in Tourism Ireland. The Scheme's standard pension rules, known as the "Core Terms", have applied equally to covered members working in the bodies from both jurisdictions since soon after the bodies were established under 1999 legislation. The North/South...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Programme Expenditure (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, since July 2012 I have made a number of announcements in relation to additional capital investment as part of an infrastructure stimulus package to help support investment in infrastructure and jobs. This additional investment supplements the exchequer capital programme and is primarily focused on projects with a high employment impact and which can benefit local...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Security Checks (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that no office in my Department has been swept for electronic or any other type of surveillance or bugging equipment since the formation of this Government.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Bodies Establishment (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: No new organisations or agencies have been established in my Department since 9 March 2011.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Sick Leave (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The new sick leave scheme for the public service is being introduced by Regulations made under the recently enacted Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments)(Amendment) Act 2013.  The legislation provides me, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, with the basis to regulate for sick leave across the public service. During the passage of the Bill through the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 323 together. Under EU Directives on public procurement public works, supplies and service contracts above certain thresholds must be advertised and award notices published on the Official Journal of the EU and awarded on the basis of objective and non-restrictive criteria. The EU Thresholds for the relevant years are listed as follows. The main...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (18 Feb 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Recruitment to the civil service and a range of other public bodies is handled under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 which established a central recruitment agency, the Public Appointments Service (PAS),for this purpose. The PAS operates under licence from the Commission for Public Service Appointments and is independent in its operations. ...