Results 18,781-18,800 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Funding (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As recently outlined by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (PQ 14780/18) the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of local authorities, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants.  The initial...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the EU-funded cross-border programmes, PEACE and INTERREG, have been important drivers of regional development for the border region of Ireland and Northern Ireland for more than a quarter of a century.  Through EU-funded cooperation, a range of Departments, agencies and organisations, North and South, have engaged in and benefitted from a variety of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Recreational Facilities Provision (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There are no plans to proceed with the development of a playground on the Oldbridge Estate, County Meath.  While Planning Permission for a playground was granted in September 2011, it expired in November 2016. The development did not proceed as funds were not available in the Office of Public Works and a request for a financial contribution from the Local Authority was declined. 

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Private Partnerships (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: A senior-level Inter-Departmental/Agency Group was established last year to review Ireland's experience of PPPs and to make recommendations on the future role of PPPs, in the context of the development of the new 10-year National Development Plan (NDP).  The Group reported to me earlier this year and I will be publishing the report after bringing it to Government for information in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA), provided that an examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of post January 2011 recruits at entry grades would be undertaken within 12 months of the commencement of the Agreement. Additionally, as the Deputy is aware, this Government accepted an amendment at Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Reform Implementation (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a new phase of public service reform is already underway, as set out in the framework document Our Public Service 2020, which I launched last December. Let me assure him that public service reform remains an integral part of the Government’s economic strategy in order to enable us to continue to improve outcomes for the public. In the case...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Relief Schemes (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme was the largest ever flood risk study carried out in the State; covering 300 areas believed to be at significant flood risk, and culminated with the launch of 29 Flood Risk Management Plans on 3 May 2018, and proposed 118 new outline flood relief projects on top of the 42 major projects already completed and the 33 major...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Consultation Process (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: At this point I have no fixed arrangement to meet the Public Services Committee of ICTU, however officials in my Department do regularly engage with the Public Services Committee on a range of issues. More broadly the reformed budgetary process allows for engagement in advance of the Budget, particularly through the National Economic Dialogue. The fourth National Economic Dialogue took...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Private Partnerships (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model is an internationally recognised model to design, build, finance, operate and maintain public infrastructure. In accordance with international best practice, PPP contracts already typically include detailed provisions that apply in the event of the liquidation of a consortium member of the PPP company, or an entity under the contract, to protect the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: External Service Delivery (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government is committed to using alternative models of service delivery, which may include external service delivery (outsourcing), where appropriate, as part of our ongoing drive to provide the most efficient and effective services to the citizen. This commitment was recently renewed in the Government's innovation and development framework, Our Public Service 2020. ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not aware of any published evidence that links recent construction company insolvencies and liquidations directly with the public works contracts.  Insolvency statistics published for Q1 2018 indicate the construction industry recorded 42 insolvencies (22% of the total number of insolvencies), a 17% increase on Q1 2017.  Published analysis points to legacy issues related to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Climate Change Policy (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The primary aim of the Paris Climate Agreement is to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The agreement does not specify any emissions reduction targets for individual parties to the agreement. However Ireland, in common...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Interdepartmental Meetings (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In regard to the specific issue the Deputy raises, I should point out that as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I have no statutory role in respect of Section 39 organizations which are the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Health. As the Deputy will appreciate, my officials are routinely in consultation with the Department of Health on a broad range of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Expenditure Reviews (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Spending Review 2017-2019 was announced as part of my Budget day speech in 2016. This review differs from previous Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure, with the introduction of a rolling system of selective reviews that will seek to examine the significant portion of current expenditure over the three year period from 2017 to 2019. This...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise Staff (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: See the following table: Port Number of Staff Dublin Airport 118 Dublin Port 85 Shannon Airport 20 Rosslare Port 25 Cork Port /Airport 20 It should be noted that Revenue is a fully integrated tax and customs administration and that it is not possible to disaggregate resources deployed exclusively at any given time on customs. Enforcement strength in ports and airports is augmented...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise Controls (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that customs facilities in place at Ireland's ports include container compounds, mobile x-ray scanners, canine units, examination & seizure sheds, secure safes, baggage hall areas, interview rooms and general office administration facilities. The facilities at each location are determined, inter alia, by the nature and volume of traffic through a particular...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Meetings (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, visited Dublin on 25-26 June to attend a conference, ‘The Euro at 20’, organised by the IMF together with the Central Bank of Ireland who also hosted the event I met with Ms Lagarde on Monday 25th June during the course of this visit. The meeting did not have a formal agenda. However, in the course of the meeting we...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Reductions (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has undertaken an economic review of the 9% VAT rate ahead of this year’s Budget and the report is currently in the finalisation stages. The Revenue Commissioners most recent estimate for reverting the reduced 9% VAT rate back to 13.5% is that it would bring in extra revenue of €527 million. I am also advised by the Revenue Commissioners that an estimate for the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Abolition (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: A review of the appropriate treatment for tax purposes of trade union subscriptions and professional body fees was carried out by my Department in 2016 and included in the 2016 report on tax expenditures published on budget day 2016. The review may be found at the following link: () The review concluded that: "... analysis of the scheme using the principles laid down by the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Exchequer Deficit (3 Jul 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The information requested by the Deputy is published by my Department on an annual basis as part the Budget Statistics . It is reproduced in the following table for the Deputy's convenience. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Exchequer Balance (€ million) -1,619 -12,714 -24,641 -18,744 -24,918 -14,892 -11,503 -8,189 -64 -1,018 1,910 % of GDP -0.82% -6.77%...