Written Answers Nos. 243-258
243. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Question No. 124 of 26 June 2013 if he will outline the number of State-owned sites and buildings in the Dublin City Council area; their area and size; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33061/13]
View answerThe information requested in respect of the number of State owned buildings has to be collated in the format requested, as the OPW database does not capture information by Local Authority area. The information will be made available to the Deputy in as soon as possible.
244. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Question No. 124 of 26 June 2013 to set out the number of vacant State-owned sites and buildings in the Dublin City Council area, their area and size; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33129/13]
View answerThe following State owned properties in the Dublin City Council area are vacant:
17 Harcourt Terrace. This property has recently become vacant and the OPW is currently evaluating options including potential disposal. (261 sq. metres).
91 – 93 Merrion Square. This property is being prepared for State usage in 2014. (Size not available).
21 Fizwilliam Square. This property has been examined by a number of potential State clients. (537 sq metres).
Former Whitehall Garda Station. This property has been allocated for other State usage. (935 sq metres).
Coláiste Mhuire. OPW is allocating this property to Dublin City Council for the new City Library.
Military road site, Heuston Gate. There is planning permission for development in place for this site and it is being retained for strategic purposes. (1.9 hectares).
Hammond lane site. This site and it is being retained for strategic purposes. (0.41 hectares).
Kevin Street/Bride Street site. This site is for the proposed new Kevin Street Garda station. (Size not available).
Site at rear of Spruce House, Leeson Lane. This site will be part of the proposed redevelopment of the former Nurse’s Home in Leeson Lane. (1,845 sq metres).
245. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has received a request from Fingal County Council to waive its interest in land (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and, if so, when a decision on the request will be made. [33333/13]
View answerThe Commissioners of Public Works have not received a request from Fingal County Council to waive the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform’s interest under Section 31 of the State Property Act, 1954 in relation to lands at Huntstown Grove, Dublin 15.
246. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his attention has been drawn to the securitisation model which it is argued would allow the State to retain full ownership of companies while raising funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32881/13]
View answerSecuritisation involves the packaging of groups of small and illiquid financial assets into financial instruments that can then be sold to investors. Therefore, securitisation still involves the sale of actual assets, but involves a more complicated sale structure. The securitisation market declined significantly in 2008 following the sub-prime crisis in the US and demand for new issues remains depressed. The use of securitisation to raise funds, as an alternative to direct asset sales under the State Asset Disposal Programme, is not considered to be appropriate by the Government at this time.
247. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total costs, including annual operational, maintenance and energy overheads, for Farmleigh each year since it opened in 2001. [32992/13]
View answerThe following table outlines the data requested.
Farmleigh expenditure from 2001
|
Year |
Capital Works Operations and Maintenance |
Energy |
Total |
|
2001 |
€5,927,229.00 |
€15,898.00 |
€5,943,127.00 |
|
2002 |
€4,080,878.00 |
€125,985.00 |
€4,206,863.00 |
|
2003 |
€3,010,477.00 |
€101,007.00 |
€3,111,484.00 |
|
2004 |
€3,242,517.00 |
€118,951.00 |
€3,361,468.00 |
|
2005 |
€3,057,685.00 |
€126,104.00 |
€3,183,789.00 |
|
2006 |
€2,526,351.00 |
€112,138.00 |
€2,638,489.00 |
|
2007 |
€3,057,961.00 |
€146,453.00 |
€3,204,414.00 |
|
2008 |
€2,984,187.00 |
€184,960.00 |
€3,169,147.00 |
|
2009 |
€2,656,806.00 |
€129,651.00 |
€2,786,457.00 |
|
2010 |
€2,805,515.00 |
€150,341.00 |
€2,955,856.00 |
|
2011 |
€2,610,729.00 |
€116,465.00 |
€2,727,194.00 |
|
2012 |
€2,798,623.00 |
€182,668.00 |
€2,981,291.00 |
|
- |
€38,758,958.00 |
€1,510,621.00 |
€40,269,579.00 |
248. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an annual breakdown of the Heads of State and other dignitaries who have stayed at Farmleigh each year since 2001. [32993/13]
View answerThe following State visits and visits by other dignitaries to Farmleigh have taken place since 2001:
2001 to 2003
State visit by the President of the Republic of Lithuania H.E. Valdas Adamkus
British Irish Inter Parliamentary Body
Mr. Halldor Blondal, M.P. President of the Altingi (Icelandic Parliamentary Delegation).
Visit by Mr. Jozef Migas, M.P., Chairman of the Slovak Parliament.
Visit of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Senawi
State Visit to Ireland by Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Latvian State Visit – President of the Republic of Latvia
State Visit Nigerian Delegation HE Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
British Delegation Overnight
2004
H.E. Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
The Secretary-General of the United Nations and Mrs Annan
2005
H.E. Mr. Georgi Parvanov President of the Republic of Bulgaria
The Right Honorable Paul Martin Prime Minister of Canada and Mrs. Sheila Martin
H.E. Mr. Ferenc Mádl President of the Republic of Hungary and Mrs. Dalma Mádl
Their Majesties, The Emperor and Empress of Japan
Mr. Svetozar Marovic, President of Serbia and Montenegro and Mrs. Djordjina Marovic
2006
The Hon. Mr. John Howard, M.P. Prime Minister of Australia and Mrs. Janette Howard
H.E. Dr. Ivo Sanader, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia
H.E. Mr. Stjepan Mesi President of the Republic of Croatia
H.E. Mr. Hosny Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak
Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles President of the European Parliament
Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
2007
H.E. Mr. Lech Kaczyski President of the Republic of Poland and Mrs. Maria Kaczy ska
H.E. Mr. Ivan Gašparovi President of the Slovak Republic and Mrs. Silvia Gašparoviová
President Jimmy Carter and Mrs. Rosalynn Carter
His Majesty Albert II, King of the Belgians and Her Majesty Queen Paola
The President of the Republic of Finland, Ms Tarja Halonen and Dr. Pentti Arajärvi
2008
H.E. Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Mrs. Tran Thanh Kiem
Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
The President of the Republic of Estonia, H.E. Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Mrs. Evelin Ilves
H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority
H.E. Mr Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and Mrs. Livia Klausová
2009
The Honourable Mr. Mizengo Peter Pinda, M.P., Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania
H.E. Mr Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
2010
H. E. Dr José Ramos-Horta President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
2011
State Visit to Ireland by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco
State Visit to Ireland by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh
Official Visit to Ireland by H.E. Mr. Jerzy Buzeck ,President of the European Parliament
2012
Official Visit to Ireland by His Majesty King Letsie III and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of the Kingdom of Lesotho
2013
Official Visit to Ireland by The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, PC, MP Prime Minister of Canada.
249. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the revenues generated from the 39 high level events held at Farmleigh in 2012. [32994/13]
View answerNo revenue was generated from these events.
250. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of full-time and part-time staff employed at Farmleigh. [32995/13]
View answerThere are 34 full time and 6 part time staff assigned to Farmleigh.
251. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views regarding pay cuts (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33064/13]
View answerIn the course of ensuring that Ireland’s General Government deficit is reduced to the 2015 target of below 3 per cent of GDP, difficult decisions have had to be taken to reduce public service pay and pensions as an appropriate contribution to achieving this target. The then Minister for Finance announced in Budget 2011 that a 10% reduction would apply to the pay rates of new entrant public servants with effect from 1 January 2011 and at the same time that new entrants must start at the first point of the relevant pay scale.
I have agreed to address the position regarding the new entrant salary scales as part of the discussions which lead to the Haddington Road Agreement. The Agreement provides at Section 2.31 that revised incremental salary scales shall be prepared for same grade entrants to bring their position into line with earlier appointments over time.
252. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans for a closed public building located in a town (details supplied) in County Galway; if there is a plan for it to have a public amenity value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33114/13]
View answerNegotiations with Galway County Council in relation to above building are at an advanced stage. It is proposed to accommodate the Department of Social Protection.
253. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if under the terms of the recent Haddington Road agreement pension reductions imposed on public sector pensions in receipt of pensions of €32,500 and over will be reimbursed over the course of the agreement or subsequently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33139/13]
View answerThe Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) does not contain any pension reduction measure. In drawing up the HRA, the Labour Relations Commission expressly recognised that Government plans for certain public service pension reductions did not form part of the proposals which comprise the HRA. The relevant paragraph in the HRA, headed “Public Service Pensions”, reads as follows: “Separately to this Agreement, the Parties note that the Government intends to align the reductions in public service pensions in payment with the reductions applied to serving staff. The Parties note that this measure will apply to pensions in payment greater than €32,500 only.”
Reductions in those public service pensions valued in excess of €32,500 duly took effect on 1 July 2013, on foot of provisions in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, and accomplished by recourse to the “Public Service Pension Reduction” (PSPR), which was originally introduced in 2011. It is important to emphasize that these July 2013 pension reductions only apply to higher-value public service pensions. The relevant legislation does not contain any provision for the reimbursement of those pension reductions. However these latest pension reductions, representing as they do one of a series of legislated financial emergency measures affecting public service pay and pensions, fall to be reviewed annually by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, as provided for in section 12 of the 2013 Act. The next such review, with written report to be provided to the Houses of the Oireachtas, is due to take place no later than 30 June 2014.
254. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the top ten headings of public expenditure and the total cost per annum for each of these headings (details supplied) for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33291/13]
View answerThe information the Deputy requires is contained in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV), which provides details in relation to all voted Government expenditure on both a Programme and Subhead level. Furthermore, the REV sets out key performance information regarding the outputs and impacts of Programme Expenditure. The Deputy might also be interested to know that my Department hosts a databank website which contains a comprehensive set of data on public expenditure in Ireland. The material can be accessed through the following web address; http://databank.per.gov.ie/. Similarly, the Department of Finance hosts a comparable website with details of Exchequer Tax receipts and can be accessed at http://databank.finance.gov.ie/. In addition, the Central Statistics Office holds a wide variety of statistical data on their website http://www.cso.ie/en/.
255. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the key measures contained within the recently initiated Protected Disclosures Bill 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33305/13]
View answerThe Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 provides a significant suite of employment and other protections to whistleblowers that are penalised by their employer or suffer a detriment from a third party as a consequence of having raised concerns regarding possible wrongdoing in their workplace. It provides for the first time comprehensive whistleblower protection across all sectors of the economy addressing what has been identified – both nationally and internationally - as a significant gap in Ireland’s legal framework for combating corruption.
The key measures outlined in the Bill are as follows:
- Compensation of up to a maximum of five years remuneration can be awarded in the case of an unfair dismissal for having made a protected disclosure.
- A wide definition of wrongdoings is included in the Bill and the safeguards provided in the legislation are extended in line with international best practice recommendations.
- The Bill contains a wide definition of ‘workers’ which, in addition to employees, includes contractors, agency staff and trainees.
- Whistleblowers will benefit from civil immunity from actions for damages and a qualified privilege under defamation law.
- Making a protected disclosure or reasonably believing a disclosure is protected is a defence to any offence prohibiting or restricting the disclosure of information.
- Where a whistleblower or, for example, a member of his family experiences coercion, intimidation harassment, discrimination at the hands of a third-party the legislation provides for a right of action in tort against that person.
- The legislation seeks to protect the identity of a whistleblower – the matter disclosed rather than the whistleblower should be the focus of attention.
- The Bill provides in any proceedings that a disclosure is assumed to be a protected disclosure unless the contrary can be proved.
- The legislation provides a number of distinct disclosure channels for potential whistleblowers.
- The protections remain available if the information disclosed on examination does not reveal wrongdoing. Deliberate false reporting will not meet the reasonable belief test and is not protected.
- Special arrangements are put in place for disclosures relating to law enforcement matters and to disclosures that could adversely affect Ireland’s security, defence or international relations.
256. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the safeguards in place to ensure contractors tendering for local authority contracts are not underpricing; if he will introduce minimum rates for machine work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33347/13]
View answerAll policy, guidance and implementation measures relating to capital projects are published on the Construction Procurement Reform website www.constructionprocurement.gov.ie where the Capital Works Management Framework provides a suite of best practice guidance, standard contracts and generic template documents, which are available to download for all contracting authorities to provide a consistent approach to the management of public works projects.
Section 8.3 of the Instructions to Tenderers for Works Contractors sets out that where an exceptionally low tender, abnormally high or low rates or prices are received, the Contracting Authority may require the Tenderer to provide details of the constituent elements of the tendered Contract Sum or the tendered amounts. This may include (without limitation) the information listed in Regulation 69(1) of the European Communities (Award of Public Authorities’ Contracts) Regulations 2006. Any failure to provide such information, when requested, may exclude the tender from further consideration. If, having considered the information provided, the Contracting Authority is of the view that either the Contract Sum is abnormally low or any tendered amounts are abnormally low or abnormally high, the Contracting Authority may reject the Tender.
The management of the tendering process for a public contract is a matter for each Contracting Authority. It is the responsibility of each Contracting Authority to ensure that tenderers comply with all the requirements of the process. In relation to safeguards in place to ensure contractors tendering for local authority contracts are not under-pricing, this is a matter for the local authorities concerned having regard to the guidance referenced above.
257. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to previous parliamentary questions, if he will expedite a decision on a business plan which proposes that a community use be established for a Garda barracks (details supplied) in County Kerry under the auspices of a council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33386/13]
View answerI am considering the community use proposal in relation to the former Garda Station in Beaufort, Co Kerry and a decision will be conveyed to the group shortly.
258. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will initiate a project to promote and protect the structure of Doe Castle, ancient home of Clann Mac Suibhne, considering the vastness and beauty of this ancient building; his views that the Office of Public Works has failed to upkeep the grounds and promote tourism at Doe Castle; his further views that a project should be undertaken to have this building promoted considering the history, heritage and culture this building provides; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33475/13]
View answerDoe Castle is a National Monument in State care and is maintained by the National Monuments Service of the Office of Public Works. The responsibility for the care and conservation of National Monuments in State care is defined in the various National Monuments Acts 1930 – 1994 and in this specific regard, it is noted that Doe Castle is in good physical condition, a significant conservation project having been carried out there in recent years. The National Monuments Service cares for both the building and grounds on an ongoing basis and my information is that this site has been visited recently for grasscutting and weed removal and the grounds are well maintained currently. I am not aware therefore that the site is in poor state as alleged and if the Deputy is aware of any issues currently in relation to the presentation of the building or the grounds, he might let me have details and I will have this addressed.
The National Monuments Service is anxious to promote visitors to its sites and, with this in mind, and having regard to the current difficult position in relation to resources, the Office of Public Works has since 2012 engaged in an initiative called "Friends of Irish Heritage" which is designed to facilitate the development of formal partnerships with local community-based groups who are interested in supporting opening of these facilities on a volunteer basis. I understand that contact has been established with interested individuals in the north Donegal area in relation to the potential tourism of Doe Castle and I would be hopeful that a viable project can be devised that the National Monuments Service can support.
In regard to marketing of this site, my officials have recently engaged with Fáilte Ireland in relation to Doe Castle and it will be prominently included in the context of the "Wild Atlantic Way" project being developed to promote and facilitate tourism in that region. It is expected that the National Monuments Service will engage in further awareness initiatives to support this in time.
