Results 14,861-14,880 of 32,572 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----for her to be saying that there are difficulties with it given that she was at the Cabinet table when the decision was made.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At least Deputy Burton is willing to make constructive interventions to this debate, unlike Deputy Mattie McGrath.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The vast majority of Departments stay inside their expenditure ceilings. Of course, the Department of Health has had ongoing difficulties in doing that. In some years, we made progress in reducing the level of supplementary funding that was needed. In other years, it did not go as I would have wanted. Last year is an example of that. I assure the Deputy that I take my role as seriously...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: When things happen during the year, it can mean that things turn out differently from what Ministers indicated to me at budget time. In such circumstances, I have put supplementary budgets in place in an effort to prevent difficulties from arising. I take the Deputy's overall point that one or two Departments need to be in a better place this year than they were last year.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 20 together. The management, delivery and oversight of individual projects and public services within the agreed allocations is a responsibility of every Department and Minister.  With this in mind, the monitoring of the national children's hospital project, including the management of the costs and the residual risks, is a matter in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister, Deputy Harris, and I have given a commitment that in a number of weeks, we will outline how we intend to respond to the recommendations that are contained in the PwC report. Two of the recommendations are particularly relevant to me. I remind Deputy Burton that the Minister for Health dealt with this matter last night in response to a number of questions from Opposition...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy was part of that Government. As I recall, her party played a pretty active role in trying to decide whether this was the right decision. Given that she was a member of the Government that made this decision, it is a little bit late in the day now for her to raise questions about the location of the new hospital. Unlike the Deputy, I still believe we are doing this in the right...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I invite the Deputy to visit the O'Devaney Gardens project to see the progress that is being made there in delivering new social housing-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and the project under way in Dominick Street. While these projects are under way we have an obligation to help people who are awaiting completion of them. I have yet to hear Deputy Boyd Barrett say what he believes is wrong with the approach of making use of existing homes to support citizens who would otherwise be in more difficulty while the build of new homes is under way. In...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To return to the central point Deputy Boyd Barrett put to me, in 2020 and 2021 under Rebuilding Ireland we will be housing more citizens in local authority and approved housing body homes than through the private rental sector. That is where we are trying to get to. While we are getting there, we are trying to ensure that families who need support get it. That is the target of this plan...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In regard to Deputy Broughan's point, I do not have any plans to introduce a further level of taxation on the construction sector or on those involved in the development of new homes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The reason I do not propose to do that is that we are trying to get more companies and local authorities involved in the delivery of more houses than are currently being built. We have tripled the stamp duty on commercial property and introduced a vacant site levy. I have also ended some of the tax reliefs that were made available for the construction sector. The purpose of all these...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Estimates process and the determination of expenditure ceilings now takes place as part of a whole-of-year budgetary cycle. The summer economic statement, SES, sets out the overall fiscal strategy for the approaching budget. The pre-budget expenditure position is provided for in the mid-year expenditure report. This sets the baseline for examination of budgetary priorities by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is correct that supplementary budgets have been required for different reasons in each of the years. In terms of this year, I have already commenced engagement with a number of Departments on their expected spend later this year. In terms of where we are now versus profile, while the vast majority of Departments are now either at or below profile, for me what is key is where we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As to whether a revised budget is going to be needed this year, the answer is "No". I indicated when we were facing into the prospect of Brexit that I would not be presenting another budget to the House. Instead, what I said I would allow to happen is the so-called automatic stabilisers, to which the Deputy is referring, coming into play in light of the fact that people will need support...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As set out in the most recent fiscal monitor published by the Department of Finance, total gross voted expenditure at the end of March was €15.04 billion. This is €343 million, or 2.2%, below profile. Gross voted current expenditure is €14.167 billion, which is €245 million, or 1.7%, below profile. Of the 17 ministerial Vote groups, 14 were below profile on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, I am at present. The reply I would give is similar to that I gave Deputy Broughan. The Deputy asked where matters stand in the context of various programmes and I indicated that they are all funded and inside the parameters outlined in the budget. We have the ability to respond to different shocks with which we might have to deal. We have to keep on building up that ability, however....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Expenditure Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I do. In particular, I am of the view that technology can play a very major role in further improving how public services are delivered. Each year, I meet all of our public and civil servants who are involved in the use of digital technology to improve how people can access public services. It is well appreciated that the Revenue Commissioners have done a really good job in that regard and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: What would be madness would be not making money available to people to give them somewhere to live while we are trying to build new homes. For this year alone, between one in four and one in five of all new homes constructed will be built by the State in order to alleviate the social needs to which the Deputy correctly refers. As those homes are put in place, the reliance on private rental...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: All my colleagues are correctly recognising the role of our Defence Forces and the contribution they make to the State. They are right to do so and I understand why. However, we also have to be conscious of the fact that other public servants are called on at times of emergency, to use the approach of Deputy Durkan, including those who work in the health services, the Garda and those who...