Results 11,621-11,640 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Seanad: Standards in Public Office Commission Membership: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank all the Senators for their support. It is important that a small amount of time is made available for Ministers to come to the House for these resolutions, rather than having them dealt with pro forma. I agree with Senator MacSharry in that regard. I am cognisant of the point he made about having as broad as possible a selection of representatives of the Oireachtas, including...

Seanad: Standards in Public Office Commission Membership: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thank the House for the opportunity to speak on these resolutions proposing the appointment of the chairperson and ordinary member of the Standards in Public Office Commission. The motions were passed in the Dáil this morning. The Standards in Public Office Commission was established under ethics legislation, namely, the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, as amended by the Standards in...

Seanad: Standards in Public Office Commission Membership: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Yes, my officials noted that.

Appointments to the Standards in Public Office Commission: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I did not realise that I had a right of reply and I did not take up my notes. I want to make a few points. On the general point about gender balance made by Deputy Fleming, I am obviously mindful of that in terms of State appointments, but since four of the six are by definition ex officio, I cannot demand under equality legislation that the Ombudsman be a woman or that the Clerk of the...

Appointments to the Standards in Public Office Commission: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: On what date?

Appointments to the Standards in Public Office Commission: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Intrigue.

Appointments to the Standards in Public Office Commission: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: No, late December.

Other Questions: Public Sector Reform Implementation (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: No. With regard to pay, all the non-commercial State bodies are fully adherent to policy and we drive that. They are subject to FEMPI and so on. We have had a long debate regarding commercial semi-State bodies and they must operate in a commercial way but all the other agencies and bodies are carefully managed and scrutinised now by Departments and we have also implemented a strong...

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware, open publicly advertised competition is a key principle of senior level appointments to posts across the public service reflecting the Government's commitment to ensure such posts, which are central to the effective performance of our system of public administration, are filled by high calibre candidates. In my area of direct responsibility, recruitment into...

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We will debate the SIPO appointments in a minute. As the Deputy will be aware, these are restricted appointments. He has read the Act. The chairperson has to be a serving or former member of the Supreme Court or High Court. I received two formal applications from such qualified people and I recommended one for appointment. The other appointee must be a former or serving Member of the...

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is the law.

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: There are not many former Supreme Court or High Court judges.

Other Questions: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I am restricted regarding the appointments that will come before the House shortly. However, I am reviewing the base legislation and we will debate that. I must be careful not to show disrespect for high office but I am not sure that the chairman of SIPO should necessarily be a former judge of the Supreme Court or High Court. We can examine that when we review the legislation. I am glad...

Appointments to the Standards in Public Office Commission: Motions (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move:That, pursuant to subsection (2A) (inserted by section 2 of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (No. 31 of 2001)), of section 21 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 (No. 22 of 1995), Dáil Éireann recommends the appointment of Mr. Justice Daniel O’Keeffe, a former Judge of the High Court, by the President on the advice of the Government to be the chairperson of...

Other Questions: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Government published the Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 as part of its legislative programme. The Bill proceeded through Second Stage in Seanad Éireann in October 2012. Let me state the Bill will not change the basis of valuation for rating purposes. This will continue to be net annual value, NAV, the hypothetical rental value of a property as assessed by reference to a...

Other Questions: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy will only hear complaints from those who properties have been valued upwards, not downwards. There is an anomaly in the case of people who maintain a high rate of valuation which cannot be justified. One cannot collapse everybody down because that would hollow out the rateable base of the local authorities and impoverish them. I will give specific examples. In south County...

Other Questions: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We have halted the Bill to engage in extensive consultation. We have engaged in more consultation on this legislation than on any other legislation with which I have been charged since coming to office. It is in the Seanad and it is my intention to bring it to this House during this session when we will be able to answer all of these questions in detail. There is no simple solution because...

Other Questions: Public Sector Reform Implementation (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 25 together. Gross Voted expenditure has been reduced from its peak of €63.1 billion in 2009 to €54.6 billion in 2013. This represents a reduction of approximately 13.5% between 2009 and 2013. Estimated Voted expenditure for 2014 will be in the region of €53 billion, with a targeted general Government deficit of 4.8%. We have...

Other Questions: Public Sector Reform Implementation (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: In shaping the overall initial estimate we have regard to projected demand. It is part of the normal process and provided for. At the end of the day, if unavoidable demand has to be met for example in a 24-7 area such as the health service, we provide a Supplementary Estimate at the end of the year to meet the shortfall. Despite the best efforts of a Department, if it does not have the...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information Remit (22 Jan 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy's first set of questions, which relate to the processes of the House, are more appropriate to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or Oireachtas Commission, probably the former. While I will be mindful of any recommendation emanating from the House, as a member of the Government I should not dictate the manner in which people are held to account in the Houses. We have had...