Results 101-120 of 629 for speaker:Séamus McGrath

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: It has been commented on that a small number of companies provide this service and are receiving large sums of money for management consultancy services. Is it in Mr. Moloney's focus or spotlight to try to look at that from a value for money point of view?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I understand that. Is it something that is constantly under review and being examined?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I will turn to the national pay agreements. I met with a former section 39 organisation recently. Their staff are still not benefiting from the pay increases that were agreed through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. St. Luke's Home in Cork is a not-for-profit organisation that was formerly paid through section 39. It is now paid through the HSE services and the National Treatment...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I would appreciate it if Mr. Moloney could do so. Clause 4.1 in the agreement provides that it should be used as a framework for additional payments to be made to cover wages. In this particular case, it is NTPF and the HSE, but they are basically bouncing off each other. The staff are the victims here. They are not getting their pay increases. These are health professionals working in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I thank the witnesses for staying with us. I have a couple of follow-up questions. To return to the theme of housing and the significant issue of local authority vacant housing and voids, it has been estimated that there are more than 3,000 vacant properties across the country. In respect of value for money and public expenditure, when we are spending €50,000 a year on emergency...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: The Department has a role to try to ensure that. To go back to large-scale projects I saw in the news that the greater Dublin drainage project has been given the green light from a planning point of view. That is welcome. It is a project of a scale of €1.3 billion. Can Mr. Moloney clarify that a contract will be signed for that project? It is obviously a very large-scale...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: With regard to our public sector workforce, what is its overall number?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Chapter 3 - Vote accounting and budget management (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: What I am getting at is the key vacancies that exist in front-line services. I met the INMO recently to discuss some of the gaps in its services in terms of workforce staffing levels not being adhered to in previous agreements. The representatives mentioned not having security staff at accident and emergency department doors at night for example. They mentioned that when it comes to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: 61. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the long term plans for the Cork Passport Office; and if it is intended to provide additional services at the office. [38236/25]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Community Development Projects (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: 106. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to consider additional funding supports for community and voluntary organisations to assist with regular running costs, such as utility bills and so on, considering that the vast majority of current grant schemes are for capital works or the purchase of items. [38238/25]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Public Works (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: 202. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of properties in the possession of the OPW that are currently vacant-disused, setting out the vacancy period, such as, less than six months, less than 12 months, and so on, in tabular form. [38517/25]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (10 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: 280. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will be allocating additional funding for the roll-out of public CCTV systems nationally, as while issues around data management seem to be largely addressed, much-needed new CCTV schemes in towns and cities will not be rolled out unless funding is made available for local authorities. [38513/25]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Pay (9 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate his response. Unfortunately, it has not addressed the core issue I raised regarding the handful of organisations that have not been brought into the tent in respect of the pay agreements. To elaborate further, prior to 2010, a section 39 block grant funded St. Luke's Home in Cork. Since then, it has had a number of different sources of funding,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Pay (9 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this matter. I raise an issue in respect of certain organisations across the country and particularly their staff and workers, who have not benefited from the pay agreements of recent years. They are former section 39 organisations. I acknowledge that many of the section 39 organisations have benefited but there is a cohort out there...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (8 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I thank the Minister for being present for the debate and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this provision. Picking up on the Minister of State, Deputy Healy Rae, I also welcome these proposals. They are very sensible. Keeping planning permission alive is a practical and simple measure but an essential one and I commend the Minister on bringing it forward. It is estimated in Dublin...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: The Cathaoirleach's directions are duly noted. I thank the Minister, Deputy Browne, the Ministers of State, Deputies O'Sullivan and Cummins, and the officials from the Department for coming in. I have a number of questions. I will ask three initially. I hope I will have time to come back in with the others. I thank the Minister for his opening statement, which was very informative. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: When does the Minister hope to publish the over the shop incentive scheme that is in the programme for Government? The Minister is well aware of the effectiveness of the tenant in situ scheme in preventing homelessness. Will there be additional funding allocated for the scheme this year, given that many local authorities have financial difficulties? When will the Minister give local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: One of my colleagues mentioned the Land Development Agency and the new approach the Minister is taking with it. Could he elaborate on where specifically he sees the agency going in terms of increasing the delivery of housing? I am thinking specifically of private sites. They should have a significant role to play in enabling those sites to be developed, not necessarily by the State but by...