Results 17,741-17,760 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I presume that the Deputy is referring to the Central Bank's recent autumn quarterly bulletin, where the Bank marginally revised down its GDP growth forecast for 2012 to 1.8 per cent. This was not unexpected given the signs of slowing activity in our main trading partners in recent months and a worsening global outlook more generally. The most recent Exchequer figures covering the period to...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 61 and 63 together. My Department has estimated that the payback time for public servants availing of an early retirement scheme is in the region of 26 months. This represents a substantial ongoing saving to the Exchequer. The Government is committed to delivering better value in the public sector in order to reduce the deficit and protect frontline...

Written Answers — Pension Levy: Pension Levy (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Only public servants pay the public service pension-related deduction. This is clearly provided for at section 2(1)(a) of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009. Section 2 of the Act further requires that a public servant must meet a pensionability condition in order to be made subject to the pension-related deduction. This condition requires that the public...

Written Answers — Comprehensive Review of Expenditure: Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Members of the public were invited to submit suggestions to the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure through my Department's website. The period for suggestions to be put forward for consideration has now elapsed. In total there were in the order of 1,000 submissions made by way of e-mail and hard copy formats. All suggestions received as part of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure have...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963 provide for added years and severance for retiring civil servants in certain circumstances. They are discretionary and are only applied in the context of effecting efficiency and economy in the organisation. In the case of retiring Secretaries General, the enhanced retirement terms only apply where the individual has not been...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 74 together. The cost-saving features of the proposed Single Scheme which will be most effective in reducing the value of the pension packages of senior civil servants, by comparison with current arrangements, are the switch to a career-average calculation method, and the adoption of inflation-linkage for both in-service benefit indexation and...

Written Answers — Comprehensive Review of Expenditure: Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Comprehensive Review of Expenditure is a process involving input from all Departments and their agencies as well as work on cross cutting issues being carried out by my Department. These Departmental submissions are a central part of the pre-budget deliberations of the Government and it is envisaged that the reports submitted as part of the CRE process can be made publicly available...

Written Answers — Sale of State Assets: Sale of State Assets (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy is aware, the State is currently dependent on financial assistance provided under an EU/IMF funding programme for its continued day-to-day operations. In this context, and given the current state of the public finances, it would be negligent not to examine all reasonable ways in the public interest to reduce expenditure and raise revenue, including through the sale of certain...

Written Answers — Public Expenditure: Public Expenditure (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the terms of the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support, an overall current expenditure reduction of €2,090 million was targeted in 2011, with an additional €1,800 million from capital. This reduction was to be made up of social protection expenditure reductions, a reduction in public service employment numbers, a reduction on existing public service pensions on a progressive basis...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As set out in the Programme for Government and consistent with EU-IMF Programme the Government is committed to reducing public expenditure and tackling the budgetary deficit while seeking to protect frontline services. As part of this the Government is committed to reducing the overall size of the public service. Data on staffing number reductions is available on my Department's website. It...

Written Answers — Expenditure Reviews: Expenditure Reviews (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Comprehensive Review of Expenditure is a process involving input from all Departments and their agencies as well as work on cross cutting issues being carried out by my Department. These Departmental submissions are a central part of the pre-budget deliberations of the Government and it is envisaged that the reports submitted as part of the CRE process can be made publicly available...

Written Answers — Regulatory Reform: Regulatory Reform (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos.170 and 197 together. In line with the 2009 Government Statement on Economic Regulation, the Taoiseach and relevant Cabinet Ministers met with key economic regulators on 2 June this year. The meeting was chaired by the Taoiseach and attended by the Ministers for Finance; Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The...

Written Answers — Public Sector Pay: Public Sector Pay (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 177 together. Apart from instances where statutory rates of pay apply, pay rates in the private sector are generally a matter for negotiation between individual employers and employees and the Government has no direct input to that process. My responsibilities in relation to pay extend to the public service where the Government has a direct role in...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Most Civil Servants recruited before 1 April 2004 may retire with immediate payment of pension from age 60. For those recruited to the Civil Service on or after 1 April 2004 (excluding Prison Officers) the minimum pension age is 65. Prison Officers recruited prior to 2004 may retire and receive immediate pension from age 50 provided they have completed 30 years service in the Prison...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce new legislation to protect small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies. In addition, you may be aware that the Construction Contracts Bill 2010 was introduced by Senator Feargal Quinn and passed Committee and remaining stages in the Seanad on 8 March 2011. It is now before the Dáil. My...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce new legislation to protect small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies. In addition, you may be aware that the Construction Contracts Bill 2010 was introduced by Senator Feargal Quinn and passed Committee and remaining stages in the Seanad on 8 March 2011. It is now before the Dáil. My...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963 provide for added years and severance for retiring civil servants in certain circumstances. They are discretionary and are only applied in the context of effecting efficiency and economy in the organisation. In the case of retiring Secretaries General, the enhanced retirement terms only apply where the individual has not been...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: It is unhelpful to Ireland's standing with our international funding partners if Deputies make unjustifiable claims of "failures in the system" when so many people in our public services are striving to deliver a first class service within reduced resources. The Government has to deliver better value in the public sector in order to reduce the deficit and protect frontline services. Over the...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The reason for any vacancy (maternity leave, career break, resignation, retirement etc) is not a factor in decisions relating to the Moratorium. It should be noted by the Deputy that a number of exceptions have been granted by my Department to cover maternity leave where the posts in question met the agreed exemption protocols in order to protect crucial services. Ireland is committed under...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (11 Oct 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Data on the third quarter of the year is currently being compiled and will be communicated to the Deputy as soon as it is to hand. The tables cover up to the 30th June 2011. INSERT TABLES HERE