Results 121-140 of 31,184 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Expenditure (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I would like to acknowledge the deputy's interest in the issue of benefit take-up; and note that the deputy has raised this issue recently in relation to a number of specific benefits and tax reliefs including Working Family Payment, Carer’s Support Grant, the Household Benefits Package, and tax allowances and reliefs. In relation to this question concerning benefits across...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his question and for clarifying that it refers to the payment of occupational supplementary pensions specifically. The majority of public servants recruited before 6 April 1995 pay Class B or Class D PRSI. This cohort of staff has no entitlement to Social Insurance benefits such as Jobseeker’s Benefit, State Pension Contributory (SPC) and Illness Benefit. Their...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Reform and transformation of our public services remains a key priority for Government and it is always a key element of Public Service Agreements. As such, the Public Service Agreement 2024 – 2026 underpins the ongoing transformation of our public services, enabling reform to continue in a collaborative and cooperative way. The new Agreement contains a chapter that sets out the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I fully support increases to the retirement ages in the uniformed services. The changes proposed by the respective Ministers that are being facilitated by my Department will enhance the options available to members of the uniformed services, and allow them to remain in service for longer if they choose to do so. Furthermore, it will assist in retaining valuable expertise. Following a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan 2021-30 (NDP), rests with the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: In recent years the Government’s public expenditure policy has allowed for a proactive and balanced approach to fiscal policy while also being flexible in addressing economic trends and unforeseen events. A dual pronged approach was taken by the Government where non-core expenditure, temporary in nature, was used as part of the response to key economic and social challenges while...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, many State Bodies classified by the Central Statistics Office as commercial are already solely audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG). While Section 1438 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that companies not trading for the gain of its members may be audited by the OCAG, only regulated private sector audit firms can act as statutory...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Budgets (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has responsibility at Central Government level in relation to the local government system generally and for certain specific functional or service areas such as planning, housing and fire services. However, responsibility in relation to policy, funding, legislation, and general oversight and accountability at national level in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Information regarding the location of applicants and/or beneficiaries of specific project funding should be available from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In relation to overall funding, the Department of Children, Equality, Integration and Youth have an allocation of 20 million euro for capital projects in the childcare sector in 2024. The funding...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Services Provision (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department’s mission is to drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for all the people of Ireland. In pursuing this mission and in implementing relevant commitments in the Programme for Government, my Department has sought to continually improve government services for all service users, including those referenced by the Deputy. This...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, I have overall policy responsibility in relation to public service occupational pension schemes payable to retired public servants. Since 6 April 1995, all newly-appointed public servants became fully insured under the Social Insurance System (pay Class A PRSI). A public servant paying Class A PRSI will receive both an occupational pension and, it is assumed,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, I am not in a position to comment on the circumstances of individual cases, this would be a matter for the relevant employer. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Special Leave with Pay has been used in lieu of sick leave in the public service for self-isolation or a diagnosis of COVID-19 for public service employees. It has been clear over this period,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The changes proposed by the respective Ministers that are being facilitated by my Department will enhance the options available to members of the uniformed services, and allow them to remain in service for longer if they choose to do so, and will assist in recruiting and retaining valuable expertise. My officials are now at an advanced stage of drafting the legislation to enact these...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) are a form of Public Private Partnership (PPP), but are significantly different from ‘traditional’ PPPs. Under an EPC, an Energy Service Company (ESCO) takes responsibility for undertaking the energy efficiency upgrade of a building. In return, an agreed proportion of the resulting energy bill savings accrue to the ESCO rather than to the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Appointments Service have informed me that the interviews for the position the Deputy refers to are being held in Galway, and that the client was informed of this on 9 April.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 236, 237, 239, 240 and 243 together. The Government’s approach to public expenditure policy is set out in the Medium Term Expenditure Strategy (MTES). This framework must be responsive to the economic landscape and is reviewed annually as part of the whole of year budget process including the Summer Economic Statement and the Estimates process. It...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Public service staffing is largely managed through a policy of delegated sanction, which has been in place since 2015. Under this delegated sanction framework, Departments are permitted to fill vacancies through recruitment and/or promotion where they hold a recruitment license, in grades up to and including Principal Officer Standard or equivalent, subject to remaining within the overall pay...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Economic Policy (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Overall our economy is in good shape and economic growth is expected to continue this year and through the medium term, as the Stability Programme Update has recently illustrated. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook, published this month shows that Irish GDP is projected to grow by 1½% in 2024. Irish GDP is forecast to continue to grow over the medium term. This is supported by...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: At the core of our strategy to meet targets is the Medium-Term Expenditure Strategy (MTES), which serves two fundamental objectives: to ensure the long-term sustainability of core expenditure growth and to safeguard investments in public services. This framework undergoes annual review as part of the comprehensive budgetary process, including the Estimates process and the Summer Economic...