Results 12,741-12,760 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Reject the ballot.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Tax Reliefs Application (25 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Travel Pass Scheme, in Section 118 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, allows an employer to incur the expense of providing an employee with a bus/rail pass, without the employee being liable for benefit-in-kind taxation. The Revenue Commissioners have agreed that the benefit-in-kind tax exemption will apply in the context of salary sacrifice, that is, where an employee agrees to...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act (Commencement) Order 2013: Statements (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I thank all Senators for making a contribution. It is no secret that this legislation was not the first option. In the lead-up to the last general election, I wanted a constitutional change to enable a different type of inquiry system to be available to the Oireachtas, analogous to systems elsewhere where findings, including findings of culpability in confined circumstances, can be made....

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act (Commencement) Order 2013: Statements (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I thank Members for facilitating the debate and welcome the opportunity to discuss the new statutory powers in the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013. The Act provides a statutory framework to assist the Houses in conducting inquiries into matters of public importance. On 19 September the Seanad passed a resolution approving the commencement order of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Information and Communications Technology Issues (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: My Department provides information and communications technologies (ICT) on a shared services basis to my Department and to the Department of Finance. We continue to update the use of technology in accordance with an agreed plan for both Departments and development of new ICT strategies for my Department and for the Department of Finance have been initiated. Suitable risk assessments will...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: OECD Reports (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The OECD Economic Survey Ireland has just been published. I have asked my officials to examine the recommendations relevant to my areas of responsibility to determine their merit and feasibility for implementation. As regards a declaration of liabilities and assets by public officials in the context of ethical requirements, this is one of the recommendations in the Final Report of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The expenditure measures announced on 5 December 2012 in the Expenditure Report 2013 were designed to yield a further €0.1 billion from 2014 onwards over and above the continuation of their 2013 impact. The impact in 2014 and subsequent years of these measures was built into the future gross expenditure ceilings set for Departments and also reflected in the estimates at the time of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 279 together. Under EU law, public contracts above a certain values must be advertised EU-wide and awarded to the most competitive tender in an open and objective process. The aim is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers value for money. It would be a breach of the rules for a public body to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Funding (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 280, 281, and 285 to 288, inclusive, together. Prior to the establishment of my Department in 2011 overall responsibility for Structural Funds in Ireland lay with the Department Of Finance. However, the Department of Finance did not then, and my Department does not now, have a substantive role in relation to the issues referred to in these questions....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Official Engagements (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Minister Brendan Howlin recently travelled to Dalian, China to attend the World Economic Forum 'Annual Meeting of the New Champions'. The meeting was attended by political and business leaders from across the globe. While in China, Minister Howlin engaged in a series of high level meetings and several interviews with International, Chinese and Irish media. Minister Howlin participated in a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Parliamentary Inquiries (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware, in order to respect the authority of the Houses of the Oireachtas to regulate their own affairs, section 1(3) of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries Privileges and Procedures) Act provides that the commencement order cannot be made unless a draft of the proposed order has been laid before each House and a resolution has been passed in each House approving the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Bodies Abolition (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: My Department is currently monitoring the implementation of the agency rationalisation programme of the Public Service Reform Plan on a quarterly basis. The latest tables which detail this progress to end Quarter 2 2013 can be found at: In summary, the tables show that significant progress has been made by Departments on the implementation of agreed rationalisation measures. To date,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Leader's Allowance Issues (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Party Leaders Allowance is provided for in the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) Act, 1938, as amended by the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 2001. In the context of the Expenditure Estimates for 2013, I announced that a 10% reduction will be applied to the Party Leaders Allowance rates payable to qualifying leaders of political...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Management Remuneration (24 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Based on the salary data currently available to my Department, the estimated full year gross saving in the Exchequer and Local Government pay bill excluding hospital consultants arising from a cap of €100,000 is some €75m. The estimate takes account of the reductions in pay arising from the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2009 and the Financial Emergency...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions Levy (19 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The public service Pension-related Deduction (PRD), as levied on the wages and salaries of pensionable public servants under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009, has been and remains a critical component of the public service pay and pension measures adopted as part of our national fiscal consolidation. Across all sectors of the public service, it is estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Decentralisation Programme Staff Transfers (19 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Government agreed in November 2011 that the Decentralisation Programme, announced in the December 2003 Budget Statement by the then Minister for Finance, should be cancelled in the light of the budgetary and staffing outlook. It was also agreed that a review of 22 projects should be carried out. Following completion of that review in January 2012, a total of 43 projects had been...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Sick Pay Scheme Expenditure (19 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 82 together. As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I have an overarching responsibility for the public service. However each individual sector is responsible for sick leave policies which apply in the sector. I have been supplied with the following information in relation to certified and uncertified sick leave in each of the sectors of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Industrial Relations Issues (19 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 to 87, inclusive, together. The matters raised by the Deputy are issues that arise in the context of proposals put forward by the Labour Relations Commission on the basis that the parties concerned agreed to recommend them for acceptance. In such circumstances and until this process is concluded it would be inappropriate at this time to make any public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (18 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As the judgement referred to by the Deputy is under appeal it would be inappropriate for me to comment directly on it. Reform of public procurement is one of the major projects of key strategic importance in the Government's Public Service Reform Plan, which was published in November 2011. Procurement of supplies and services accounts for around €9 billion of current spending by the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (18 Sep 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Valuation Office is currently undertaking a systematic programme of revaluing, for rates purposes, all industrial and commercial properties in the State. The immediate objective of the national revaluation programme is to ensure that the first revaluation of all rating authority areas is conducted as soon as possible. Revaluation is conducted across all relevant properties in one or more...