Written Answers Nos. 110 - 117
111. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a determination will be made on a grant application appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26276/13]
View answerAn appeal from the person in respect of whom details were supplied by the Deputy was received in my Department on 23 April 2013 and is due for consideration by the Independent Student Grants Appeals Board on 11 June 2013.
112. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 106 of 22 May, 2013, the number of persons who are earning in excess of €200,000 who are not an academic medical consultant; if he will provide details of their role or position and the reason the public service salary cap does not apply in these cases. [26277/13]
View answerThere are currently 10 people in the Education sector who are earning in excess of €200,000 and who are not academic medical consultants, four of whom are Heads of Universities. The remainder are appointments made in accordance with a framework agreed between the Irish Universities Association and the Higher Education Authority which allows for a departure from approved levels of remuneration.
Framework Appointments are made by universities under the terms of a Departures Framework provided for under Section 25(5) of the Universities Act 1997. This allows universities in very limited and exceptional circumstances, for academic and research posts, to depart from approved levels of remuneration where the governing authority is satisfied that it is necessary to meet the objects of the university. The purpose of the Framework is to enable a university to attract a person to its staff, who would, because of exceptional or scarce expertise and/or qualifications, command remuneration higher than the norm and who would not be prepared to work for the university unless so rewarded. Appointments made under the framework do not require the sanction of the Minister or the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
The Deputy will be aware that the Government introduced a salary ceiling of €200,000 and this has applied to all new appointments to senior positions across the Public Service. Since becoming Minister I have written to the Chairpersons of University Governing Bodies requesting them to ask all relevant individuals, including Presidents, who earn in excess of €200,000, to make voluntary waivers of salary. While two individuals, one of whom is a university Head, have agreed to make personal arrangements with their employer regarding a deduction of the amount of salary over €200,000, there have been no voluntary waivers made for the benefit of the State. I cannot enforce a voluntary waiver nor can I insist that a waiver, if made, follows any particular format. For example, if an employee chooses to waive a portion of his/her salary in favour of a charity or their employer they are free to do so. However, it would be my personal preference as Minister that any waiver made should be for the benefit of the State.
113. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the purchase of a site (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26286/13]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that officials from my Department have been working closely for some time now with officials from Wicklow County Council in relation to acquiring a suitable site for the delivery of school accommodation in the area referred to by him. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that agreement in principle, subject to contract, has been reached in relation to a suitable site which will cater not only for the school referred to by him but also for other accommodation needs in the area. Contracts are awaited at present in relation to the site. The Deputy will be aware that the project to deliver the new school building for the school referred to is included in the five year Building Programme which I announced in 2012.
114. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when a reply will issue to this Deputy's correspondence (details supplied); if he will provide an update on the current plans for procurement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25985/13]
View answerUnder EU law, public contracts above a certain values must be advertised EU-wide and awarded to the most competitive tender in an open and objective process. The aim is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers value for money. It would be a breach of the rules for a public body to favour or discriminate against particular candidates on grounds of location or nationality and there are legal remedies which may be used against any public body infringing these rules.
The National Procurement Service (NPS) has put in place a number of national arrangements designed to secure better value for money from leveraging the public service’s buying power in relation to a range of goods and services that are commonly purchased across the public service. These national arrangements have benefits that include: cash savings; administrative savings from reduced duplication of tendering; greater purchasing expertise; improved consistency; and, enhanced service levels.
In some instances the take up of the NPS arrangements has been low. In order to increase the usage of the NPS arrangements and thereby secure best value for money, the Government decided that it should be mandatory for public service bodies to use specified national procurement arrangements. Last year my Department issued Circular 06/12 which implements the Government decision by making it a mandatory requirement that public service bodies avail of specified national arrangements put in place by the NPS.
Where a mandatory framework arrangement exists, any public service body intending to make a purchase other than through the framework arrangement will need to ensure that it can explain the rationale for not using the NPS arrangement and provide a value for money justification that takes account of the full costs including those incurred in managing its own procurement process.
While the key purpose of Circular 6/12 is to enable the State to do more with less by aggregating procurement to secure better value for money, it is worth noting that such aggregation arrangements can be implemented in a manner that achieves value for money with a minimal negative impact, or indeed a positive impact, on SMEs. While a number of the categories of goods and services mandated under the Circular are suited to single supplier national arrangements, these need not be accepted as the norm. The greater use, where appropriate, of multi-supplier frameworks can address local supplier issues while also ensuring on-going cost competitiveness of the framework itself. Such multi-supplier frameworks may also offer SMEs the opportunity to participate in national level contracts, thereby offering valuable reference work when competing for public procurement contracts in other jurisdictions.
In relation to plans for further reform of public procurement, an external review of the central procurement function was commissioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The report of the review, which was published late last year, found that significant savings can be achieved through the implementation of a transformational change to the central procurement model. In December 2012, arising out of recommendations in the report the Minister announced the appointment of a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) to lead a key element of the Government’s Public Service Reform agenda. The new approach to public procurement will involve integrating procurement policy, strategy and sourcing in one office; strengthening spend analytics and data management; much greater aggregation of purchasing across public bodies to achieve better value for money; examining the specifications set out for goods and services; evaluating demand levels to assess how demand and volume can be reduced; and strengthening supplier and category management.
Since the appointment of Paul Quinn, CPO, on 28 January 2013, he has initiated and completed a series of engagements (workshops and one-to-one meetings) with key stakeholders within the public sector and their representatives in relation to the development of the proposed governance structures, implementation plan, transition arrangements and savings targets for the procurement function. The following sectors were engaged in workshops / meetings: Health, Education, Local Government, Defence, Justice, and other Central Government Departments.
To summarise: we in government want better value for money for our substantial procurement spend and we want Irish SMEs, where necessary, to form alliances and networks to ensure they can tender on a competitive basis for this work. To ensure the reform process take account of the needs of stakeholders further consultations will be undertaken with employees and workers’ representatives as the new Office for Government Procurement is established. We are committed to ensuring that SMEs are fully engaged in the process and will be encouraged, where necessary, to form alliances and networks to ensure they can tender on a competitive basis for this work.
A response to the correspondence that the Deputy has referred to and provided details on in his question will issue shortly.
115. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list in tabular form of all residential properties and addresses operated or owned by the Office of Public Works, which have so far been identified and are liable for the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26176/13]
View answerThe Office of Public Works has engaged with the Revenue Commissioners and concluded an exercise to identify all those state owned properties, which may be liable for the property tax within their portfolio. A list identifying the residential properties within the property portfolio of the Commissioners for Public Works will be sent to the Deputy under separate cover.
116. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list in tabular form of all residential properties and addresses, operated or owned by the Office of Public Works that have so far been identified, that are being considered for disposal by sale or other action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26177/13]
View answerThe OPW is currently assessing the property options in respect of all residential properties arising from the closure of Garda Stations. The stated policy is to identify if other State Bodies, including Government departments and the wider public sector has a use for the property. If there is no other State use for a property the OPW will then consider disposing of the property on the open market, if and when conditions prevail, in order to generate much needed revenue for the Exchequer. If no State requirement is identified or if a decision is taken not to dispose of a particular property the OPW would consider community involvement, subject to the receipt of an appropriate business case which would indicate that the community/voluntary group has the means to insure, maintain and manage the property. The OPW intend to initially identify 20 former Garda properties which will be placed on the market for disposal by the Summer. It is not possible to provide information on the specific locations or the anticipated value at this time.
117. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of all residential properties, with addresses, operated or owned by the Office of Public Works which have been sold since 2003; if he will list the price achieved for each and the year sold; if he will indicate if it was offered on the open market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26178/13]
View answerOn the matter of the sale of residences by OPW since 2003, the list below identifies the residential properties sold by the Commissioners in the specified period.
|
Property |
Location |
Sale Amount |
Date of Sale |
Type of Sale |
|
Former Garda Station |
Kilmacthomas Co. Waterford |
€100,000 |
August 2004 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda Station |
Thomastown Co. Kilkenny |
€450,000 |
October 2004 |
Auction |
|
Former Garda Station |
Kilronan Co. Galway |
€1,270 |
June 2005 |
Private Treaty |
|
Mouth of the Boyne Cottages |
Co. Meath |
€10,685 |
August 2006 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda Station |
Muff Co. Donegal |
€415,020 |
October 2006 |
Auction |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Greencastle Co. Donegal |
€4,445 |
February 2007 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda House |
Goresbridge Co. Kilkenny |
€12,680 |
August 2007 |
Private Treaty |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Mouth of the Boyne Co. Meath |
€19,619 |
October 2007 |
Private Treaty |
|
Residence |
Oakley Road Ranelagh |
€75,013 |
August 2008 |
Private Treaty |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Mouth of the Boyne Co. Meath |
€10,622 |
April 2009 |
Private Treaty |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Crosshaven Co. Cork |
€12,196 |
June 2010 |
Private Treaty |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Crosshaven Co. Cork |
€13,967 |
August 2010 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda House |
Rathdrum Co. Wicklow |
€98,003 |
September 2011 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda Station |
Carbury Co. Kildare |
€40,100 |
November 2011 |
Private Treaty |
|
Former Garda House |
Ballyshannon Co Donegal |
€100,011 |
February 2012 |
Private Treaty |
|
Coastguard Cottage |
Crosshaven Co. Cork |
€130,003 |
November 2012 |
Private Treaty |
