Results 12,441-12,460 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Procurement Regulations (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: There is no way we can deliver efficiencies and effective procurement policies without price being central. Some have made the case that we need to examine broader factors than price alone. I am sure, therefore, that at a point in time the OGP is no longer able to point to savings, those who argue we need to move away from price will forget that and state the office is not doing a good job....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The pay of senior civil and public servants continues to be framed by the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation. As the Deputy will be aware, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides a statutory roadmap for the continued controlled unwinding of the FEMPI legislation as it applies to all public servants, including those in senior positions....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can assure the Deputy that I am every bit as in touch with reality as she is. She stated the two previous reports from the Public Service Pay Commission found there was no issue-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy did say that. She referred to the two previous reports.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Sector Pay (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is discussing semantics. She referred to the reports on the Defence Forces and nursing, which were the two reports prior to the one we are discussing. That is a matter of fact. It is also a matter of fact that the commission did not state there was no difficulty. Even a cursory reading of either of the reports, which the Deputy may not have taken the time to do, shows that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It continues to play a big role. As we look at the debate on where we are in expenditure and changes that are happening there, I continually hear calls, both inside this House and elsewhere, for additional capital investment and additional spending of money to deliver new homes and better public transport. I understand why those calls are made but we should also acknowledge that from 2016...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: That question cuts to the heart of a number of the challenges we have. On the question of whether they are using old figures, I would refer to the degree of cost inflation taking place in our economy with all the pressures that are there to deliver more homes while there is huge private sector investment under way. A business case can be put together with figures that are right at a point...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer is "Yes" but clearly we have to continue to look at our public spending code to make sure it is in line with best practice. I emphasise again that for so many projects across the length and breadth of our country we are able to deliver them in a timely way in line with the costs we have for them. One of the issues I have been grappling with is the situation where we have a major...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Procurement Regulations (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government recognises the importance of the SME sector and continues to enhance the already substantial measures to support SMEs in accessing the public procurement market. Significant work has been undertaken by the Office of Government Procurement to ensure public procurement is accessible by all businesses. A group chaired by the Minister of State at the Departments of Finance and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget 2020 (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: That €60 million is then used to hire teachers, to make sure that we have the right number of special needs assistants and so on. It is really important to make clear that money that is used for demographics is not dead money in any way. It is used to make sure, for example, that we have the right amount of money available to meet our commitments to those who are entitled to a State...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget 2020 (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Of course it is not, which is why I said what I said. The money is being used in ways that are important. Where does the money come from? It comes from, for example, the €3.4 billion package that was announced on budget day, approximately €400 million of which was funded by additional taxation.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Shared Services (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will begin by answering the first question posed by Deputy Broughan on the savings achieved. As he said himself, the NSSO provides human resources, pension and payroll services to our Civil Service. I am advised by the office that the estimated savings for 2019 were €8.7 million, of which €7.6 million derives from the shared delivery of human resources services across all...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Shared Services (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will answer the Deputy's last question first, if I may. We will need to do a benchmarking exercise to compare where we are vis-à-visother European countries. However, my sense is that we need to wait a little bit longer before doing so. The NSSO is still a relatively new organisation. While much of the work that needs to be done in terms of the movement of staff and so on is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Shared Services (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The office does not play any significant role in procurement beyond the procurement processes in which it is involved itself. In terms of expansion into the HSE, it will be some time before such a process begins, given the number of people that the HSE employs

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Shared Services (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We have yet to make a decision on it. My hope is that once we ensure that the work of the NSSO is successful and grows, there will be an opportunity to look at that question in the future. However, there are 90,000 to 100,000 people working in the HSE at the moment and it would be a very big decision to replicate what they do, given the huge number of payment systems that are already in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Let me tell the Deputy about the kinds of project that have been delivered on time and on budget and are making a difference to communities the length and breadth of our country, but about which we will never hear any acknowledgement from him or Sinn Féin more widely - the N11; the Tralee bypass; the Gort-Tuam road; the Belturbet bypass; the infrastructure upgrade of our Luas; the north...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Equally, we are resolute in ensuring in the decisions that are still available to us that value is achieved and improvements are made in how the children's hospital is delivered.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I assure the Deputy that I do not take any offence at what he says. While finding him professional and on top of all the detail every time I deal with him, that is always mixed with continual rage towards me. I do not take any offence at that because I am focused on trying to ensure that we can learn from what went wrong and make improvements where possible while also laying out in a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget 2020 (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Each year, there are certain categories of expenditure that are treated as pre-committed for the purposes of the Estimates process. In shaping the allocation of resources in budget 2020, these included demographics, public service pay agreements, the carryover of certain budgetary measures and the capital expenditure increases under the national development plan. For 2020, that figure was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Budget 2020 (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Did the Deputy say it was €60 million?