Results 14,861-14,880 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Proposed Legislation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Valuation (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2012 had its second stage reading in Seanad Éireann on 11th October, 2012 and in the interim a number of organisations and bodies, including organisations representing various commercial ratepayers, have made detailed submissions to me on various aspects of the Bill. My officials have held consultations with the representatives of these...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Private Partnerships (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The current arrangements in place in relation to the control and monitoring of PPP contracts are in line with EU law in this area and are consistent with the approach adopted in the UK and other countries. PPP contracts involve the private sector partner designing, building, financing, operating and/or maintaining the asset over a 25-30 year period. By their nature PPP sector-specific...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Grades (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Based on data reported by Departments, the information sought by the Deputy is as follows: Non Industrial Civil Servants - end December 2012 by Full time equivalent (FTE) Female (FTE) Male (FTE) Total (FTE) Female % of Total Male % of Total Secretary General & Second Secretary Equivalent Grade 9 25 34 26.5 73.5 Deputy Secretary & Equivalent...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Government Expenditure (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 58 together. With regard to budgetary matters, when focusing on the primary objectives of reducing the deficit and returning sustainability to the public finances, it has been of vital importance to the Government to spread the burden of the adjustments in as fair and equitable a manner as possible, while also seeking to minimise their negative...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Proposed Legislation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware, at its meeting of 31 October, the Government approved the drafting, as a matter of priority of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2012 with a view to its early enactment. This legislation will provide a comprehensive statutory framework for inquiries carried out by the House(s) of the Oireachtas consistent with the current...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Job Creation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: On the 17th of July 2012, the Government announced its plans for an additional 2.25 billion euro investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland. The most important contribution capital investment can now make is in providing the capacity for the economy to grow, which will in turn create employment. The stimulus package included 1.4 billion euro to fund the proposed new Public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Legislation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Decision-making on the application of Freedom of Information to public bodies is a matter for Government on the basis of proposals made in my role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government decided in July last to endorse the principle contained in the Programme for Government that in the future Freedom of Information should apply to all public...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: All policy, guidance and implementation measures relating to capital projects are published on the Construction Procurement Reform website www.constructionprocurement.gov.ie where the Capital Works Management Framework provides a suite of best practice guidance, standard contracts and generic template documents, which are available to download for all contracting authorities to provide a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Retirements (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: There are no plans to introduce compulsory early retirement in the public service.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Implementation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Addressing the fiscal crisis that faces Ireland presents enormous challenges to all citizens of the State. The public service pay and pension bill at 36% of spending is an important constituent element on which a substantial part of the burden of adjustment has and must continue to fall. It is this significant fiscal deficit, and the need to reduce it in accordance with the EU/IMF Programme,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Numbers (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 110 together. The Government is committed to reducing public service numbers to 282,500 by the end of 2014 as part of its Reform Agenda. The overriding objective is to have a more customer focused, leaner, more efficient and better integrated public service which delivers maximum value for money. It should be noted that significant progress is...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: State Indemnity (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Normal State policy, as advised in the Public Financial Procedures, is that the State is its own insurer and as such covers its own costs. State indemnity for personal injury and third party property damage was legislated for in the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act, 2000 where the management of personal injury and third party property damage claims against certain State...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Evaluating the opportunity for the external delivery of some non-core public services is an action in the Public Service Reform Plan agreed by Government in November 2011. Last July, the Government agreed a range of actions aimed at achieving a focused and integrated approach to external service delivery of non-core processes with the objective of reducing costs and focusing staff on...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The data provided below covers retired Civil Servants, the VEC/IoT sector and 7 smaller bodies and agencies whose pensions are paid on an agency basis by the Office of the Paymaster General. Range € Number 50,000 60,000 638 60,001 70,000 260 70,001 80,000 48 80,001 90,000 37 90,001 100,000 20 100,001 + 103 The above figures take account of the Public Service Pension...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Strategies (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The approach to progressing this initiative will be set out in the Procurement Reform Implementation Plan that the incoming new Chief Procurement Officer will be preparing for Government by the end of Q1 2013. I understand that significant progress has already been made in the health sector where the Health Service Executive has implemented a range of measures to improve and streamline...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, published in November, 2011 includes commitments to enhance communication within and between public bodies to ensure that resources are used as efficiently as possible and that the customer is at the centre of service planning and delivery. The Government’s Public Service Reform Plan also places a strong emphasis on the need for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Card (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I understand that the number of Public Services Cards issued by Department of Social Protection has very recently exceeded 100,000. As part of the Public Service Reform Plan a number of actions around the use of the Public Services Card for accessing services were identified. Firstly, to agree on an investment programme and the allocation of required resources. This has been agreed...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Implementation (23 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Since eGovernment 2012-2015 was launched in April 2012, my Department has been promoting awareness of the content of the strategy, including reporting requirements. In that regard, the eGovernment Policy Unit has met with Public Bodies for a series of bilateral meetings to agree approaches to progressing and reporting on actions in the strategy. The Unit has also organised four...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Numbers (22 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The data requested by the Deputy in relation to reductions in public service numbers is set out in Expenditure Report 2013, Table 6 Public Service Staff Numbers (Whole Time Equivalents) page 132. A copy of this publication was given to all Deputies on Budget day. It is also available on my Department's website as is the historical data public service number ( ) from 1994 to Quarter 3...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure (22 Jan 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Reports provided by Departments for the end 2012 Exchequer Statement showed that net voted capital expenditure across all Departments amounted to €936m for the month of December and €3,382m over the course of the year. A further €113m in capital carryover from 2011 was also spent in 2012. A breakdown of expenditure by Vote is attached in tabular format. The figures...