Written Answers Nos. 111-119
111. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a mature student grant in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53390/12]
View answerOfficials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that further supporting documentation was received from the student referred to by the Deputy and his application will be reviewed shortly. SUSI will contact the student directly in relation to the outcome.
112. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of all pensions payments by year paid to a person (details supplied) from January 1985 to 2012. [53134/12]
View answerMr. Peter Sutherland has been in receipt of a Ministerial Pension since 16th of July 2001.
As per the table.
|
Financial Year |
Gross Pension paid by PMG |
|
2011 |
€49,403 |
|
2010 |
€52,632 |
|
2009 |
€52,632 |
|
2008 |
€51,537 |
|
2007 |
€49,790 |
|
2006 |
€47,243 |
|
2005 |
€44,079 |
|
2004 |
€43,782 |
|
2003 |
€38,542 |
|
2002 |
€51,949 * |
* includes arrears from 16 July 2001
For 2011, the figure shown is the gross pension payable following removal of the applicable PSPR value.
113. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 148 of the 18 October 2012, if the properties or sections of properties which the State is renting are occupied or unoccupied at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53106/12]
View answer114. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 148 of the 18 October 2012, he will state the terms of each lease; the date on which each lease referred to is next due for review; if increases in rent have been agreed at present in respect of any of the properties; if he will list these increases by property and amount; if he will provide the figure the State can be expected to pay on the remainder of each lease referred to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53107/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 114 together.
The Office of Public Works is currently assessing the resources and time required to deal with the Questions and will revert to the Deputy in due course regarding how the matter is to be approached.
115. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there will be any provisions in Budget 2013 to reduce the number of quangos; and the number of quangos that will then exist following these reforms. [53151/12]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware it would not be appropriate for me to comment in advance of the Budget on possible Budget decisions.
116. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a breakdown of reductions of personnel in the public sector over the past four years; the expected reduction over the next two years; and when he expects the moratorium on recruitment to end. [53152/12]
View answerThe Government is committed to reducing public service numbers to 282,500 by the end of 2014 as part of its Reform Agenda. The overriding objective is to have a more customer focused, leaner, more efficient and better integrated public service which delivers maximum value for money.
The moratorium on recruitment will continue until such time that the targets agreed in the Programme for Government are met. If the general moratorium on recruitment was lifted and numbers were allowed to return to their former levels, the paybill would increase over time and accordingly a substantial part of the savings already achieved would be lost. However, the precise operation of the moratorium is being kept under review by my Department.
The historical data requested by the Deputy is available on my Department’s website http://databank.per.gov.ie/ from 1994 to Quarter 3 2012. This data is regularly updated and I would urge all Deputies to utilise this resource.
117. Deputy Paschal Donohoe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has received responses from the Irish Insurance Federation in respect of the Office of Public Works presentation regarding the proposed template for sharing information on flood defence and prevention measures; if this information has not been received, when he expects the IIF to respond to the presentation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53195/12]
View answerThere have been a number of discussions between the OPW and the IIF on a sustainable system of information sharing particularly in relation to the identification of flood alleviation schemes and works completed and where the standard of protection afforded by these works could be verified. A proposed template for providing the required information, on a GIS platform, was presented to the IIF and a number of the main insurance companies in July 2012.
The IIF has responded within the last fortnight to this presentation and, while it raised a number of technical issues on the information, it has given a broadly favourable response to the proposed OPW template. Work will now continue between the OPW and the IIF on further progressing the matter.
118. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he or the SEUPB will give consideration to the possibility of an extension of six months to the conclusion of Peace III in order that partnerships will wind down in a timely manner rather than rush spend in order to get the final financial records updated by 31 December 2013. [53224/12]
View answer119. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he Department or the SEUPB have considered the issue of there being a gap of one year between the conclusion of Peace III and the commencement of Peace IV; his views on whether there is the danger that relationships built up, expertise and follow up on projects may be lost if this occurs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53225/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 119 together.
The PEACE III Programme (2007-2013) is a €333m cross-border programme co-funded by the European Union. Its aim is to promote reconciliation and to help to build a more peaceful and stable society in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland.
PEACE III is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and is subject to the European Union regulations governing structural funds.
Under EU rules, PEACE III programme funds must be committed by the end of 2013 and project expenditure must be completed during 2015 at the latest for programme closure. Each project will have a timeframe agreed in its Letter of Offer so while some projects have already completed expenditure, others are ongoing and some will still be spending in 2014 and 2015. SEUPB works closely with all project holders in receipt of PEACE III funding to ensure that their objectives are completed within the timeframe outlined and agreed in their conditions of grant.
The next round of EU Structural Funds will cover the 2014-2020 period and negotiations on the Commission’s legislative package are currently under way. In fact, we will be seeking to make substantial progress on the Cohesion dossier during our Presidency.
I am continuing to press for a new PEACE Programme for the 2014-2020 period. However, the support of the UK Government and the EU Institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament) will be required. If a PEACE IV programme is agreed, there will be an overlap period between PEACE III and PEACE IV in 2014 and 2015, where some projects continue to have activity and expenditure under PEACE III, and PEACE IV projects are commencing. This position pertains to all EU Structural and Cohesion programmes and transitional provisions are included in the regulations.
