Results 13,181-13,200 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I fundamentally disagree with the Deputy. The reverse is the case. This process has been honest with workers from the start. We laid out the requirements of the State in terms of the pay bill, as everybody knows, the condition of the public finances and the view of Government that we needed to make a further contribution to solving the deficit hole through reducing the pay and pensions...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I agree.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: What is true is that the only employees getting a direct pay cut are those earning in excess of €65,000, and the Deputy knows that full well. It is interesting that the Deputy has now moved away from groups she was highlighting on the last occasion - who have now, by and large, accepted the Haddington Road agreement - to the CPSU.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Its members are currently being balloted and, unlike the Deputy, I do not want to involve myself in their ballot. I agree that everybody in the public service is affected, because everybody is asked to make some contribution, but those represented by the CPSU are minimally affected. Their core pay is not touched at all. They do not do overtime, by and large, and they have been asked to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Lottery Funding Disbursement (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Under the next national lottery licence, annual contributions for good causes will be set at 65% of gross gaming revenues. Gross gaming revenues are defined as the level of sales less the amount deducted for prizes. The current licence does not have a specific formula in place under legislation for good causes. The level of contribution is the amount remaining when prizes and costs are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Lottery Funding Disbursement (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: No. The Deputy makes a number of valid and fair points. This is a balance that I and the Government have sought to strike in terms of maximising the up-front payment without damaging the constant annual flow of money for good causes. It is our estimate that we can increase the volume and flow of money for good causes. All of these are theoretical until we see the structure of the new...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I have given figures to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I gave figures to the Deputy, namely, 13,000 jobs in respect of public private partnerships, PPPs, and 3,000 jobs from the stimulus package I announced last week.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Yes, it is new money.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Let me be clear. The Government made decisions back in 2011 in respect of the capital plan to reduce the quantum of money in order to lessen the reduction in current expenditure. For example, rather than taking a further €1.5 billion out of social welfare this year, as Fianna Fáil had planned, the Government took additional money of approximately half a billion euro out of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has a point, which is the reason the Government did look afresh. The Deputy is correct, in that there is a predilection to look at the traditional projects. While roads, hospitals and schools fall into that category, they are needed. For example, the next project I wish to advance before the end of the year on the road side will be the N17-N18 in the west. That is an important...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 was enacted on 5 June 2013. The primary purpose of the legislation is to implement the proposed pay reduction for public servants earning salaries of €65,000 and the parallel reduction in public service pensions of more than €32,500. Contingency measures that may be deployed to secure the necessary reductions in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I understand the question, and I understand the Deputy’s eagerness to get the information. I am anxious to give him an accurate answer but I am not in a position to do it right now. While the pieces on the deck will certainly amount to €300 million in the current year and €1 billion between now and 2015, the exact make-up of those pieces will not be known until the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is not only a target, it is a target that will be achieved because we have enough pieces in the legislation and in the agreement to make it. The exact make-up in terms of how much of it will be from the Haddington Road agreement and how much will be achieved through the FEMPI legislation will depend on the outcome of the ballots. I cannot give the definitive breakdown until I have the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: This question is properly for the Minister for Social Protection and the response I am giving is from her Department. The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for the Minister for Social Protection to comment on issues arising in regard to a particular pension scheme. In general, pension schemes in Ireland are established under trust. The trust deed and scheme rules...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I fully understand and appreciate the Deputy’s difficulty. I am sorry that I am not the appropriate person to respond. I have outlined the general law on the legal obligation of trustees, which gives some reassurance to the Deputy. I undertake to bring the Deputy’s direct concerns to the attention of the Minister for Social Protection. I will ask her to reply directly to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Issues (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The stimulus package announced in July 2012 included investment of €1.4 billion in a new public private partnership, PPP, programme. This investment is additional to the direct investment by the Exchequer in infrastructure which was outlined in the medium-term Exchequer framework published in November 2011. Earlier this month, and as a follow on to last year's package, I announced an...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Haddington Road Agreement Savings (20 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The voluntary redundancy scheme is expected to give rise to savings in three areas where it will be initially rolled out. These include the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and specific parts of the health and education sectors. The relevant Departments have estimated that there will be scope to effect approximately 2,000 exits from these areas over time, mainly from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: We will keep the committee informed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It was a question that was raised and I did not fully answer it previously. Once we had got agreement that we invest 50% directly, I did not want simply to take the other 50% and use it to retire debt. As much as I am anxious to squeeze down the total quantum of debt, it would be almost a token and it would much more valuable if we could use it in a different way. We were thinking outside...