Results 201-220 of 31,123 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senator for her questions. There is a lot in her contribution and I will quickly address each of the points mentioned. First, significant progress has been made in ensuring that green and climate issues receive a far higher level of profile in procurement discussions. I attribute much of the credit in this regard to the work that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: With respect, I do not sure that is what the Senator said in her question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Sure, but the Senator should consider the significant changes made in procurement practices. The Government has published cost control and carbon reporting templates and they are now a mandatory part of procurement processes. When capital projects are being considered now, there is the option to report the embodied carbon during construction. While this is not currently mandatory, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his question. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is looking at how we can provide public transport connectivity through rail to more parts of our country, including where the Deputy referred to, through the strategic rail review that is now under way. That will have to be considered by the Government in the future. There are many other different public transport...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes and one reason for the delays the Deputy referred to and what is a common theme in some of the questions put to me today is the length of time involved in moving some of these projects through the planning process. The reasons for this are many. A big factor that I acknowledge as one of the reasons has been the need to supply more resources and support to An Bord Pleanála to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Sure. On the Deputy's point on the evaluation of business cases and the length of time involved in that, we have to look at how we have conducted our work, what works and how we can do it even better in the future. The point I respectfully make to the Deputy is when we get to the point when BusConnects starts being built, for those of us who have been involved in it and have seen some of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Is the Senator looking for my commitment regarding doing the work?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senator for raising a very fair point. I was exchanging questions with my colleagues, as I am reasonably sure that we have done that work and that ii has been done a lot more recently than 2020. It may be the case that it has not been published yet. I will go away and check that and come back to the Senator on that. I accept that the impact of those schemes and what their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I will have to come back to the Senator with an answer on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I will, certainly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I will deal with each question in turn. Do I believe there should be two different processes of business cases, one for sustainable projects and another for projects that should be less sustainable? Unfortunately, I will disappoint the Chairperson and say no. I think what would happen is that most Government Departments would argue that their projects are sustainable and that they should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the members for their questions. We roughly totted up the number in response to Deputy O'Rourke's question. I started counting people but then I realised I was going to miss some important colleagues. We think we have around 15 to 20 people in the team overall working on climate in the Department, which makes it a good share of the overall organisation's headcount. They are a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (15 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. On the points the Deputy made on retrofitting, which I mentioned in response to Senator McGahon, I believe it is of great climate benefit but it is also a great strand of the proposition that we must put to our country as to why we can be part of a collective effort to get carbon emissions down. If it is part of that, we can enable homeowners to make their own homes...

Estimates for Public Services 2024 (14 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I move the following Revised Estimates: Vote 7 — Office of the Minister for Finance (Revised Estimate)That a sum not exceeding €42,434,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2024, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Finance, including the Paymaster-General's Office,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (14 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: A key part of the annual budgetary cycle is determining the amount of funding required for Departments to carry out their existing functions, before any new decisions are taken. This is referred to as the ‘Existing Level of Service’ or ELS. ELS funding provides for the maintenance of our existing services and schemes, with the overall affordability limits set out in the Medium...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Reviews (14 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed by the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) that to ensure compliance with Data Protection they cannot comment publicly on an individual case. However, I am informed that the NSSO has reviewed the case and is contacting the individual in question as well as the related HR unit.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Referendum Campaigns (14 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has received a guidance note from the Department of the Taoiseach in respect of the application of the principles of the various Court judgments relevant to the Government’s role in referendum campaigns. This guidance has been noted at the Department's Management Board and circulated to all staff in the Department. It has also been shared with the bodies under the aegis...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Supports (13 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Union’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) is a unique regulation established specifically to provide support to counter the adverse economic, social, territorial, and environmental consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. The regulation is clear that in order to be eligible for BAR funding, the expenditure must fall within the eligibility period for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Government Procurement (13 Feb 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) currently has 44 vacant posts. The table below shows the number of current vacant posts by grade and the estimated full year cost of filling each vacancy. Grade Number of vacant posts Estimated full year cost Estimated Total Annual Cost of filling vacant posts Assistant Principal 4 ...