Results 19,421-19,440 of 32,924 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform Implementation (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the community and economy in Tipperary. They were pointing to the progress that is being made. When I met the chief executive of the local authority, he pointed to the fact that not enough housing had been delivered, as the Deputy rightly said. He also took me through the plans funded by the Government to increase local housing supply, however. We want to and will ensure local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department's role is broadly to deliver well-managed and well-targeted public spending. When it comes to climate change, this means ensuring we respond in the best way to climate transition in our country. EU countries have agreed on a 2030 framework for climate and energy, including new EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period 2021 to 2030. These targets will be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I see this as a major opportunity. I want the Irish people and Government to play a role in responding. The Deputy can always point, very legitimately, to areas in which we could make improvements and operate differently, but alongside that, let us recognise what is contained in Ireland 2040, the national development plan. There is a commitment to retrofitting 45,000 homes each year and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The figure the Deputy mentioned is not correct. For the latter half of the plan, the assumption underpinning the national development plan is 2% growth per year. We deliberately reduced our growth forecast for the second half of the ten-year plan in recognition of the fact that it was more difficult to forecast that far ahead into the future in view of the many risks, of which the Deputy is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy referred to a growth rate of 4%. When we are considering growth rates in the economy so far into the future, we strip out the impact of inflation. The trend growth rate we have used for the second half of the plan is 2%.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy further asked whether we had been cognisant of the Copenhagen papers and how we had taken account of Brexit. I will make two points in that regard. The best response we can put in place to the period of uncertainty the economy could enter if the Brexit process becomes even more difficult is to increase capital investment across the period. That is what we are doing. We are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: That is all contained in the Project Ireland 2040 strategy and the associated documents that were published. They lay out how we believe the plan is affordable. With regard to having a safety net, the best response in entering a period in which the economy could face further uncertainty is to make use of the levers we can fully influence. Increasing investment in higher and further...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Reform Implementation (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In December 2017 last I launched Our Public Service 2020, the new framework for development and innovation in the public service. The new reform framework focuses on supporting sustainable, continuous progress across the public service. Our Public Service 2020 has three priority pillars: delivering for the public, innovating for our future and developing people and organisations. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not comment on any potential agreement or disagreement. We have an agreement that is laid out in text and the Government and I are honouring everything laid out in it. Work is under way on the issue of new entrant pay and I have updated the House on some key points in that regard. The Public Service Pay Commission is engaged on the issue in the context of recruitment and retention...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Measures (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The ongoing work on equality budgeting in Ireland follows the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to "develop the process of budget and policy proofing as a means of advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights". Following this programme for Government commitment and in order to facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of the impact...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Measures (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Responsibility for matters related to how we support citizens with a disability lies with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who regularly challenges all Departments, including my own, to look at how we can meet their needs. As to how we are seeking to advance the broad equality budgeting agenda, my Department is engaging with the Irish Human Rights and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Budget Measures (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am committed to increasing resources to deal with such issues. I have engaged with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, on this area in two successive budgets. The issues of detail the Deputy raises are, however, matters for the Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. I will contact him to see if I can get answers to the issues raised by the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for the question. I look forward to working with him during what I am sure will be a very exciting period in the run-up to many things in the coming months. The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, provided that an examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of those recruited after January 2011 at entry grades would be undertaken within 12 months...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Service Pay Commission (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 provides for €887 million in additional pay restoration and increases. The agreement makes clear that the responsibilities that are upon me are to set up the public service pay commission, which was set up before the agreement - I did that - and to support the pay commission in submitting a report to Government during the second...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 18 and 25 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Government Procurement (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Public Procurement is governed by EU legislation and National rules and guidelines.  The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has responsibility for developing and setting out the overarching policy framework for public procurement in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Targets (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Managing the delivery of public services within allocations is a key responsibility of each Minister and Department. There are important measures in place to ensure that our budgetary targets are being met and my Department is in regular contact with all other Departments and offices to ensure that expenditure is being managed within the overall fiscal parameters. Expenditure profiles...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Pay Commission Remit (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) 2018-2020, includes a commitment to examine the issue of recruitment and retention in the public service. The Public Service Pay Commission addressed the issue of recruitment and retention across the public service in their initial report published in May 2017. While high level evidence collected by the Commission in their first report...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Private Partnerships (17 May 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 am currently reviewing their comprehensive report, which I will...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (17 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Mid-Year Expenditure Report (MYER) 2017, published in July last year set out the pre-Budget position for voted expenditure after taking account of the impact of demographics across the areas of health, education and social protection, and the carryover impact of prior year measures. The MYER set out an estimate for demographic costs of €0.3 billion for 2018 and €0.4...