Results 12,461-12,480 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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

Paschal Donohoe: Indeed. Turning to the Deputy's point on the impact of demographics, the life expectancy of women in Ireland was 83.3 years in 2015 while it was 79.3 years for men. That was a large and welcome change compared with where we were a number of decades ago, but it all has consequences for the pre-commitments we need to make. As to how this affects the budgetary process, between early...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has been assigned direct responsibility for the implementation of 18 steps across 12 separate actions under the Government’s climate action plan. These actions are due for completion in 2019 and 2020. To give the Deputy a flavour of the actions already completed, my Department is looking at reforms to the public spending code that will require a more realistic cost...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not sure how the Deputy can make the claim from my answer that I am changing my thinking on the carbon tax. I did not say that in the answer I gave him. What I did say was that we were looking at the role of pricing in the context of the public spending code to ensure, for example, that we would better evaluate road projects against what might be a public transport alternative. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I believe - I will confirm it with the Minister, Deputy Bruton - that what we are talking about is making different use of the existing PSO levy. The Deputy sounds very like somebody who believes we need to make a transition to a low carbon economy and that we need to respond to climate change but is denying that there will be costs involved.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: There will be costs involved. I do not know whether the format allows me to hear the Deputy's views on an increase in carbon tax, but if he is saying we can make the change to a low carbon economy without it involving changes for many citizens, respectfully, he is wrong. Even through what we have done on carbon pricing, we have put in place additional measures to try to support and protect...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The majority of recent projects have been delivered on time and within budget. There is a high level of professionalism in public investment across the various sectors. Ireland's public investment management systems are not static. They are regularly reviewed. In that context, my Department has been engaged in intensive work to update the public spending code. We have had a consultation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Pearse Doherty referred to hardworking families, hardworking mothers and fathers, the young children who were depending on schools being completed and hospitals being available to them, if needed. They are the very same people for whom we are seeking to deliver projects such as the national children's hospital and the national broadband plan. It is in order that young children can...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Estimates Process (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Supplementary Estimate, on which the Deputy's final question touched, includes some funding for the winter initiative plan. I clarify that point because the Deputy put that question to me. We are simply ensuring that the health service is recruiting for posts for which there is a budget. The total funding available to the Department of Health is at the very high level of €17.4...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together. As I have previously indicated, I intend to provide the capital required to fund the additional cost of proceeding with the national broadband project from future revenues.  This will be done, and has been done, in the context of updating the overall capital ceilings set out in Project Ireland 2040.  This means that the decision...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Doherty asked me what we are doing to learn from the situation in respect of the national children's hospital, which I have said is unacceptable. We are in the final stages of revising our public spending code to ensure that the delivery of projects of huge scale is managed better than the delivery of the national children's hospital. He made reference to school projects, primary...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Estimates Process (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Expenditure Report 2020 outlined the requirement for Supplementary Estimates for a number of Votes in 2019. These supplementary provisions arise as a result of policy decisions, including the provision of a 100% Christmas bonus, and expenditure pressures, particularly in the health sector. At that point, it was estimated that the aggregate amount required for Supplementary Estimates would...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Estimates Process (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To give further context to where we are with the Supplementary Estimates, while they continue to be at a level which I want to see reduced further, they are significantly lower than they were a year ago. I said last year that a number of things which happened from September onwards would not be repeated, and they have not been repeated. Furthermore, the Supplementary Estimates for this year...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Spending Code (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As part of the ongoing reform of Ireland’s public investment management systems, my Department has undertaken extensive work on the updating of the Public Spending Code.  The purpose of this update is to strengthen the existing guidance to better align with the realities of project delivery and with a particular focus on improved appraisal, cost estimation and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan Funding (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level.  Responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with individual sponsoring...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Implementation (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: While this Government has already implemented a comprehensive series of reforms in the public sector since 2011, I can assure the House that reform continues to be a key priority and we are already developing ambitious proposals for the future. The current framework for public service reform and innovation, Our Public Service 2020 (OPS 2020), builds on earlier reforms while expanding...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Project Ireland 2040 (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Investment Projects and Programmes Tracker is currently being revised and updated. The Tracker provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments that make up Project Ireland 2040. It focuses mainly on projects with estimated costs greater than €20 million. The updated version of the tracker will be published in Q4 2019. The updated tracker will contain...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: This issue relates to a claim by community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors who have been seeking, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme. The matter was the subject of extensive discussion at the Community Sector High Level Forum...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Work to promote the incorporation of social and environmental considerations in public procurement is being progressed under the National Public Procurement Policy Framework which is the overarching policy framework for public procurement in Ireland. Under this framework, proposals to implement environmental considerations in public procurement are being developed through...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Assets (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I assume the Deputy is referring to the State Asset Disposal Programme which was initiated in order to release value from State assets that could be used, as far as possible and subject to the fiscal rules, to support the economy and job creation, while also using some of the proceeds to reduce debt.   There have been no disposals under the programme since 2016, however, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (14 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. My Department issued ”Instructions to Personnel Officers on Ministerial Appointments for the 32nd Dáil” in June 2016. Under these Guidelines Special Advisers to Ministers and Ministers of State who regularly attend Cabinet are to be placed on...