Results 15,221-15,240 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: These are all the questions in the name of Deputy Bernard Durkan. He is a very diligent Deputy.

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Government is making good progress on achieving all of our targets and priorities, as set out in the Government programme. We are bringing public expenditure back to a sustainable level and driving forward the public service reform agenda to ensure efficiencies and reformed work practices play a full part in contributing to the overall budgetary consolidation effort. When determining...

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I am delighted to do so if the Leas-Cheann Comhairle allows me to. I brought a proposal to Government yesterday on foot of the analysis that has concerned me for some time. If someone asked me my greatest concern as Minister over the past number of months, it is the unallocated savings facing the economy next year and in 2014. The medium-term fiscal framework set out expenditure reductions...

Other Questions: Expenditure Reviews (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: In the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014, CER, published in December last year, I set out the various elements of the Government’s new medium-term expenditure framework, MTEF. One key element was the introduction of ministerial expenditure ceilings, which are three year allocations of current expenditure to each Minister and Department. This innovation is intended to put the...

Other Questions: Expenditure Reviews (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: We are moving to a much clearer budgetary structure than existed heretofore. I will deal first with multi-annual frameworks. It is not a case of handing out the money for the next three years. These are the horizons of expenditure that we expect. Obviously we must generate sufficient money each year. We do not give them an advance payment for next year; we are hard set to find the money...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: They are all bad options. Deputy Broughan is right but that is the awful state we are in. I am asking people, if they want Parliament to be Parliament, to make the decisions. They should not say this is what we should not do but they should say this is what we should do. Let us see the Deputy's proposals to meet the thresholds we are obliged by our funders to reach. As I said, I look...

Other Questions: National Lottery (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: On 4 April 2012, I announced that the Government had decided to hold a competition for the next national lottery licence and that the licence will be for a 20-year period. Since April, my Department has carried out a considerable amount of preparatory work for the competition. It will be necessary to revise the National Lottery Act 1986. The Government has approved the general scheme of...

Other Questions: National Lottery (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I will answer the Deputy's last question first. It is not a bad deal for Ireland. I would not do it if it was not a good deal for Ireland. There were a few misconceptions in the Deputy's long set of questions. He talked about the up-front fee which I expect to use to build the national children's hospital and he set that against the good causes. The good causes money is separate and the...

Other Questions: National Lottery (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I have already answered that question in response to a priority question. There are conditions in the Davy contract in terms of timelines and things to be fulfilled. The payment will be dependent on those being achieved. I have said I will give a full account of what is paid once the tendering process is completed by the middle of next year. I have tried to exclude myself, so I have not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy has made a fair point. I will ensure that we learn from the analysis of whatever failings, faults or mistakes occurred in the processing of student grants so that the lessons can be applied generally across the other shared services on which we embark.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: In the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-14, CER, published in December last year, I set out the various elements of the Government's medium-term expenditure framework. A key element was the introduction of ministerial expenditure ceilings, which are three-year allocations of current expenditure to each Minister. The Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012, which was published...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: In our discussions, I have found the Deputy to be process-focused, that is, on regulatory impact assessments and so on. The Government has published ceilings of expenditure and, through the CER, set out policy options. We must select from these options to achieve the ceilings. This process does not require regulatory impact assessments or anything else in terms of the participation of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I had hoped that the Deputy would have a more ambitious role than to critique someone else's proposals. When I was on that side of the House, I fought for parliamentarians to have the ability to table our own ideas. If the Deputy believes that the disability sector should be preserved, he should table alternatives that exclude it from cuts. This is what being a robust parliamentarian...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy may wish to examine the specifics before deciding ideologically that it is a disaster. Let us consider what we are proposing in terms of shared services. We will have the PeoplePoint facility to avoid duplication of individual human resource management in every agency and workplace. This function will be rationalised in one unit and we could do the same with pensions management....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy referred to a 2008 report. There are many reports on our economy from that period which would not be considered accurate in the current circumstances. I am very proud of our public services and will defend them. I want to migrate the best practices in the private sphere into the public sector and I hope the best practices in the public sphere, integrity for example, will migrate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: The shared services programme, as set out in the public service reform plan, is being implemented incrementally. Good progress has been made since the end of March, principally in respect of the following; a shared services transformation unit has been has been established within my Department and is working with nominated senior officials to ensure ambitious and robust plans are developed...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I will address the Deputy's final point first. Having examined international best practice, we found that, on average, the payback period is approximately four years. Savings, albeit not necessarily in cash, will be achieved immediately. Having accelerated the transfer of activities into the PeoplePoint human resource management entity, we estimate this initiative will achieve an immediate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I will deal with a number of matters raised by Deputy McDonald. Nobody wants to live in an era when we reduce spending, and certainly not to the degree we are required to as part of the programme obligations we must meet to fund all services. We are borrowing money from a lender of last resort on certain conditions. The Deputy knows this full well. When considering equality in the last...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: I would be very surprised if the Deputy took anything other than her own view of anything I say. I do not know why she expects an answer as she likes to respond to her own questions with conclusions given in a pre-prepared soundbite to be released afterwards.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget 2013 (21 Nov 2012)

Brendan Howlin: We are in a desperate financial position.