Results 17,881-17,900 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (28 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: My Department was formally established on 6 July 2011 under the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 2011. Generally, information on the age of a candidate is not part of the candidate information that is collected when promotion competitions take place in the Civil Service. Selection for appointment to posts in the Civil Service (both internal and external) is governed by the Codes of Practice...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I understand that the Deputy is interested in the 'grace period' and its effects. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009 provided for a period within which pensions are unaffected by the pay cuts introduced in that Act. This 'grace period was due to expire by the end of 2010 however it was extended to 29 February 2012 to avoid too large a number of public...

Written Answers — National Lottery Funding: National Lottery Funding (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The surplus generated by the National Lottery is transferred annually to the Exchequer and is applied to part-fund the Exchequer allocations to a specified range of expenditure subheads across various Votes. The amount transferred to the Exchequer from the Lottery surplus, together with details of the total Exchequer allocations to the relevant lottery supported subheads are published each...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland was allocated a total of €901m in Structural Funding for the 2007-13 programming period, with €750m assigned to the Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) Objective. Ireland's National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) sets out the policy context through which the RCE allocation may be applied. This is implemented through three Operational...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The grades in the Civil/Public Service which may potentially attract a severance (or severance type) payment at termination, subject to certain conditions, are as follows: Secretaries General The lesser of:- (a) 6 months' salary, or(b) potential salary to age 65. County Managers The lesser of:- (a) 6 months' salary, or(b) potential salary to age 65. Ministerial Personal Staff The greater...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The only added years awarded in the Civil and Public Service to persons before reaching the standard pension age are to Secretaries General, County Managers, CEOs of non-commercial State Bodies and to staff in any grade who retire or are retired on health grounds before normal retirement age. There are no added years' arrangements which enable a person to retire on maximum superannuation...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: It is estimated that the imposition of a cap on pensions in the civil service, based on January 2011 data, would have resulted in an estimated saving of €43m if pensions were capped at €35,930. This takes no account of the tax and other statutory deductions foregone. Comparable data are not available for the public service as a whole.

Written Answers — Capital Expenditure: Capital Expenditure (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The details being sought by the Deputy are not held centrally in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This information is held by the relevant individual contracting authorities who are involved in capital expenditure. I will seek to compile this data on the Deputy's behalf but it will take some time before I can contact him further on this.

Written Answers — Bonus Payments: Bonus Payments (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The Civil Service Staff Suggestion Scheme (INPUT) has not been operational on a centralised basis since 2003. Information on savings made in each Department was not collated centrally during the lifetime of the scheme. Innovation and business process improvement is now an established discipline within Government Departments. The management of change is also a well established process within...

Written Answers — Public Procurement: Public Procurement (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Guidelines from my Department require that public bodies conduct the public procurement function in a way that facilitates and does not place barriers to participation of small and medium enterprises. As one measure to achieve this, the guidance advises that the sub-dividing of procurement requirements into "lots" should be considered by contracting authorities where it would be appropriate...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the terms of the Civil Service Superannuation Schemes, retiring staff are entitled to a lump sum payment and a retirement pension which is based on their length of service and final pensionable remuneration. Further details regarding retirement benefits for civil servants are available at www.cspensions.gov.ie Retiring staff receive a retirement lump sum of 3/80ths of pensionable...

Written Answers — Equal Opportunities Employment: Equal Opportunities Employment (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The position in relation to opportunities for employment in the Public Service generally is limited by the recruitment and promotion moratorium which was announced on the 27th March 2009. The moratorium applies, with limited exceptions, to the civil service, local authorities, non-commercial state bodies, the Garda Síochána, the Permanent Defence Forces and to certain bodies established by...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The public service numbers as reported to my Department for end June 2011 are set out in the table. Public Service Serving Numbers for End June 2011 Functional Classification Whole Time Equivalent Civil Service* 37,204 Defence Sector 10,325 Education Sector 92,815 Health Sector 105,253 Justice Sector 14,567 Local Authorities 30,728 Non Commercial State Agencies 11,880 TOTAL 302,772...

Written Answers — Expenditure Reviews: Expenditure Reviews (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: I would point out to the Deputy that 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...

Written Answers — Departmental Strategy Statements: Departmental Strategy Statements (27 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: As specified under the Public Service Management Act 1997, my Department has submitted to me its draft Statement of Strategy for the period 2011-2014. The finalisation of the Statement of Strategy will reflect the key policy commitments of the Government including the emerging decisions in the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure currently underway. It is my intention to publish...

Written Answers — National Lottery: National Lottery (22 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: While I, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have overall responsibility for the National Lottery, the appointment of Lottery agents is a matter for the National Lottery Company. I have no role in day-to-day commercial decisions of this nature. Retailers who wish to act as a Lottery agent are advised to contact the National Lottery Company directly.

Written Answers — Public Service Remuneration: Public Service Remuneration (22 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: Under the Presidential Establishment (Amendment) Act, 1973, the personal salary of the President is set at the rate paid to the Chief Justice plus ten per cent. In accordance with the Act, the salary of the current President is €325,507 p.a. The President also receives an allowance for entertainment and other expenses related to the Office of €317,434 p.a. The remuneration and allowances...

Written Answers — Public Service Remuneration: Public Service Remuneration (22 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The number of civil servants across the civil service currently on pay scales over €100,000, €150,000, €200,000 and €250,000 is set out in the table below. This is less than 2% of numbers serving. NON INDUSTRIAL CIVIL SERVANTS END JUNE 2011 Headcount Over €100,000 585 Over €150,000 48 Over €200,000 13 Over €250,000 0 TOTAL 646 These figures do not take account of the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (22 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The matter of pension arrangements for retiring Secretaries General, heads of other State offices and non-commercial State agencies, is at present the subject of a review by my Department, following which I will bring forward proposals. This review is dealing with the terms of future appointments. The Government will be ensuring that the new terms reflect our changed economic circumstances....

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (22 Sep 2011)

Brendan Howlin: The vast majority of public service occupational pension schemes are financed on a pay-as-you-go basis with the annual cost of pensions being met from current revenue and therefore do not have funds. The commercial semi-state bodies do have pension funds as they are responsible for their own pension arrangements and funding. Deficits on pension funds are the responsibility of the State...