Results 12,561-12,580 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Sinn Féin's attitude when we took offices was that we should have told the troika to take a hike and take its money with it. If we had taken that party's advice, there would be no social welfare or educational provision and we would not have an economy. The economic strategy employed by the Government has brought us back to sustainability. We have taken very difficult decisions and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is as if there are soft options available. The Deputy appears to believe we can sprinkle fairy dust and all will be well. I am afraid we do not live in that reality. On the specifics, we indicated that there would be three successive increases of €250 in student registration charges. We have not reintroduced fees. The Deputy's party is in power in the North and student fees...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I welcome my constituency colleague, Deputy Wallace, to the House and to Priority Questions. As he is aware, job creation is a critical priority for Government. In July 2012 the Government announced its plans for an additional €2.25 billion investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland. The most important contribution capital investment can make is to provide the capacity...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Some of those question are not particularly germane to my area of responsibility but I will do my best to answer them. Irish Water is the new flagship State agency. It will be a commercial semi-State body, the largest created since the ESB. It will have a significant quantum of money to invest, not only in respect of water metering but also in the context of water development. Such...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Haddington Road agreement sets out the basis of a further €1 billion contribution by the public service pay and pensions bill to our fiscal recovery through a series of equitable and sustainable measures. These measures will allow for the creation of a more streamlined and unified public service. In addition, the agreement will give certainty to public servants over the next...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I cannot be definitive on whether there will be a Supplementary Estimate for the health area. I can tell the Deputy that the most recent figures we have, which I just published last week, show that every line Department is within profile, either below its voted expenditure limits by the end of September or on target. Out of an amount in excess of €6.9 billion, the Department of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has asked a number of questions. First, in regard to the monitoring apparatus for the new Haddington Road agreement, Deputies opposite were quite critical of the monitoring of the last one. I thought it was a good monitoring system because it gave quantifiable savings and some of those were externally audited again by a firm of auditors. I am open to suggestions in that regard....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Equality Proofing of Budgets (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: With regard to this budget, while the primary objective has been to reduce the deficit and return stability to the public finances, it has been vital to the Government to spread the burden of adjustments in as fair and as equitable a manner as possible while also seeking to minimise any negative impact on economic growth and job maintenance. Furthermore, it is the Government's responsibility...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The closest data currently available within the Department to that sought by the Deputy indicating the estimated breakdown of employee numbers on a whole time equivalent basis (based on a whole time equivalent figure of 290,000) by salary range within the public service post 1 July 2013 is set out in Table 1 below. The estimate takes account of the reductions in pay arising from the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Semi-State Bodies Remuneration (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 48 together. In 2012 the Government reviewed the position on the payment of performance related reward schemes or bonuses for Chief Executive Officers in Commercial State Companies and agreed to continue with the policy which it introduced in 2011 of requesting the State Companies concerned not to award such bonus payments in light of the serious...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Oireachtas Banking Inquiry (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The initiation of a banking inquiry is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas to determine. Under the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013, authority rests with the Houses of the Oireachtas in determining the requirement for a formal inquiry, the terms of reference of an inquiry, the appropriate committee to conduct an inquiry and the procedural and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Performance Management and Development System (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, my Department is engaged in the ongoing review and reform of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) in the Civil Service with enhancements to be introduced on a phased basis in the context of the broader objective to develop and strengthen the management culture across the Civil Service. In light of these objectives my Department's strategy is to: -...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Bodies Numbers (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 22 together. As the Deputies are aware, the rationalisation of State bodies is a key deliverable of the Public Service Reform Plan. My Department is currently monitoring the implementation of the measures on a quarterly basis. The latest tables which detail this progress to end Quarter 3 2013 can be found on my Department's website. In summary, the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions Issues (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Retirement lump sums are payable to Public Servants in accordance with the terms of relevant legislation and Superannuation Schemes. Lump sum benefits on retirement were introduced in the Civil Service in 1909 with a commensurate reduction in the accrual rate for actual pension from 60ths to 80ths – most pension schemes in the Public Service now provide benefits on the same basis. ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Open Government Partnership (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 44 together. Following Government approval, I submitted a letter of intent for Ireland to participate in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on 15 May 2013 and Ireland therefore joined the 4th cohort of new countries who will formulate an Open Government Partnership national action plan. The OGP is a global multilateral initiative that aims to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Redundancies (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Government decided in late 2012 that voluntary redundancy can be introduced in certain targeted sections of the public service where staff surpluses are identified by management and where redeployment is not suitable. The purpose of the scheme is to assist Government in implementing restructuring and reform in a strategic and targeted manner. Greater efficiencies in the way the public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce new legislation to protect small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies. In this regard, Minister of State Brian Hayes worked closely with Senator Feargal Quinn to develop the Senator's private members' Construction Contracts Bill into a robust piece of legislation. I believe that there is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Estimates Process (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: At the end-September, 2013, the aggregate net voted total expenditure position was 2.7% (or €879 million) below profile, with all Departments broadly in line with profile. On the current expenditure side, net current spending was 1.9% (or €574 million) below profile in the first 9 months of the year. On the capital side, net voted capital expenditure at the end September...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Licence Sale (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I announced on 3rd October 2013 that Premier Lotteries Ireland Limited, a consortium comprising Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (the owner of the Camelot Group), An Post and An Post pension funds, has been selected as the preferred applicant for the next National Lottery licence. Discussions on finalising the terms of the licence will commence shortly between the Department of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Remit (9 Oct 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Freedom of Information Bill 2013, which I am currently sponsoring, passed Second Stage in the Dail last Thursday (3 October 2013). Section 40(1) of the Bill as currently drafted, provides that access to a record may be withheld if its release could have a serious adverse effect on the ability of the Government to manage the national economy or financial interests of the State, could...