Written Answers Nos. 262-285
262. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Public Appointments Service is allowed provide test results to persons so they know how they performed in their aptitude tests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55518/13]
View answerRecruitment to the civil service and a range of other public bodies is carried out under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 which established a central recruitment agency, the Public Appointments Service (PAS), for this purpose. The PAS operates under licence from the Commission for Public Service Appointments and is independent in its operations.
PAS follows best practice in its testing procedures and automatically issues an indication of success/failure (and placing if appropriate) to all candidates following tests. Depending on the nature of the tests being employed the notice may routinely include details about a candidate's scores in each test. However, even if not included, test results are available to candidates on request.
263. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons working in the public service and the Civil Service in each year from 2008 to date in 2014; the expected numbers in the public service and Civil Service by the end of 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1005/14]
View answerThe data requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of persons working in the civil and public service in each of the years 2008 to end Quarter 3 2013 is available at http://databank.per.gov.ie/. The numbers in respect of Quarter 4 2013 are currently being compiled and will be available on the databank in early February.
The overall numbers target for 2014 is 287,000. A breakdown by Vote is provided in Table 6 -Public Service Staff Numbers (Whole Time Equivalents) - of the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2014 which can be found on my Department's website at http://per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/REV-2014.pdf.
The number of Public Servants has fallen by some 30,000 since 2008, a structural downsizing of almost 10 percent.
264. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will make emergency funding available for coastal protection works at Rossbeigh Beach, Glenbeigh, County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1194/14]
View answer269. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will make emergency funding available for coastal protection works in County Kerry; if he will take into consideration the considerable damage that has been done to family homes, private property, businesses, hundreds of acres of sand dunes, public roads and footpaths, beach walls, access slipways to the beaches, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts and public car parks during the Christmas and new year period; if he will take into consideration the fact that hundreds of homes and businesses are now at risk from tidal flooding in County Kerry; if he will make emergency funding available to repair and strengthen the embankments throughout the county so these homes, businesses and properties can be protected; if he will take into consideration that high tides are again forecast for the end of January and beginning of February and immediate action is required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1235/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 264 and 269 together.
The investigation and addressing of coastal erosion problems are matters for Kerry County Council in the first instance. It is open to the Council to apply for funding to deal with coastal erosion under the Office of Public Work's (OPW) Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme. Any application received will be assessed under the eligibility criteria, which include a requirement that any measures are cost beneficial, and having regard to the overall availability of funding.
The Office of Public Works wrote on 10 January to City and County Managers in coastal areas indicating that it will accept applications under its Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme for funding to assist with repairs to built flood defences and coastal protection structures which have been damaged by the recent storms. This is a once-off measure to reinstate built coastal defences to their pre storm condition. The specific application form for this entitled Coastal Storm Damage Flooding Questionnaire 2014 is available on OPW's website www.opw.ie under Flood Risk Management.
Applications approved under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme will be funded from OPW's overall Flood Risk Management capital allocation, which for 2014 is €44.2m. It is not possible at this point to say how much of the overall capital provision will be allocated for coastal erosion measures in Co. Kerry in 2014.
265. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to review costs (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1195/14]
View answerThe most recent C&AG exercise showed the accrued liability in respect of public service occupational pensions to have been €116bn as of December 2009. This figure covers the liability in respect of serving staff and pensioners from all Public Service pension schemes i.e. Health, Education, Civil Service, Defence Forces, Local Authorities, Garda Síochána, Ministerial and non-commercial state bodies. The figure represents the present value of the benefits earned by serving staff based on service to that date and the present value of future payment to current pensioners and their spouses together with the value of benefits to preserved pensioners also at that date.
Work has now commenced in my Department on updating this figure; this new exercise will estimate the position as of December 2012. The exercise will take into account the relevant changes in public service pay and pensions in recent years. It is intended to have an updated estimate of the accrued liability figure early this year.
266. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if penalties for underperforming civil servants will be introduced at senior and junior grades (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1197/14]
View answerA suite of sanctions, up to and including dismissal, are currently available to deal with underperformance at all levels in the civil service. There is, however, a need to strengthen performance management in the civil service in order to ensure that the tools available to managers to manage performance are appropriately applied in practice. In this context my Department has introduced a number of reforms to the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) since 2011 and is focused on ongoing and continuous improvement of the system.
As part of these reforms, my Department has developed a framework and guidelines for managers across the civil service on how to address underperformance. The guidelines set out a road map for managers and HR units in addressing poor performance and respect the principles of natural justice and fairness. The guidelines reflect good practice in the management of performance in a private or public sector environment.
Where performance does not improve to a satisfactory level, despite the efforts of the manager, the manager can legitimately start disciplinary action under the Civil Service Disciplinary Code.
Following changes to the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956, introduced by the Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Act 2005, disciplinary action can be taken in cases of underperformance as well as in cases of misconduct, irregularity, neglect or unsatisfactory behaviour. Disciplinary action can include: deferral of an increment; reduction in pay; suspension without pay or ultimately dismissal. As set out above, these sanctions are currently available to managers to deal with poor performance at all levels in the civil service.
The Deputy may wish to note that in accordance with due process and principles of natural justice, disciplinary action can only be taken where a staff member has been warned and given the opportunity to improve his or her performance and where appropriate training and development measures have been taken. These type of requirements apply equally to employees in the private sector.
267. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to use the higher scale in each pay scale grade in the Civil Service to reward workers who excel at their job, rather than base it on seniority for a certain percentage of the grade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1200/14]
View answerWhile I am of the view that civil and public servants need to be incentivised properly in relation to promoting high performance and addressing underperformance, a substantial change is necessary to develop a high performance culture across the public service. In the event of any policy consideration of incentivised reward systems in the civil service concerning exceptional performance, the issue of previously introduced payment reward arrangements could be expected to be taken into account in developing any new initiatives in this regard.
268. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to lift the pension levy in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1234/14]
View answerIt is assumed that the Deputy's question relates to the public service Pension-related Deduction (PRD), as levied on the wages and salaries of pensionable public servants under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009, as amended.
The PRD has been and remains a critical component of the public service pay and pension measures adopted as part of our national fiscal consolidation. Across all sectors of the public service, and based on the current PRD rates structure, it is estimated that the deduction raises in the region of €950 million per year.
On this basis, the key importance of the measure in restoring balance to the public finances means that I have no plans at present to cease PRD deductions, but as with other FEMPI provisions this matter is reviewed annually.
I would however note that, as legislated for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, and as provided for in the Haddington Road Agreement, the rate of PRD on the €15,000 to €20,000 band of pay received fell from 5% to 2.5% on 1 January 2014. This rate cut is worth €125 annually in gross terms to most public servants, with those taxed at the standard rate enjoying the greater gain in terms of take-home pay boost.
270. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he intends, post the Haddington Road agreement, to reinstate public sector pensions which have been reduced under the agreement to their level prior to the agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1312/14]
View answerI would refer the Deputy to my reply in respect of this matter on 9 July 2014 to Parliamentary Question No. 33139/13, asked by Deputy John Paul Phelan.
271. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the categories of public sector workers who can avail of and-or request added years on retirement. [1338/14]
View answer272. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the occasions on which he signed off awarding added years to public sector workers between March 2011 and December 2013; the grade of the persons awarded the added years; and the number of added years awarded in each instance. [1365/14]
View answer277. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the projected monetary value of the added years awarded to public sector workers on retirement between 2007 and 2013. [1403/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 271, 272 and 277 together.
There are various arrangements in operation throughout the Civil and Public Service which can provide in certain circumstances for added notional years of reckonable service when calculating superannuation benefits.
- Professional Added Years Schemes: These schemes apply to certain professional, technical and specialist posts in both the Civil and Public Service. Subject to certain conditions, they provide for the granting of added years in cases where the minimum essential requirements of a competition are such that they would prohibit a candidate from entering the civil/public service in sufficient time to acquire maximum service and, by extension, the candidate would be unable to accrue maximum superannuation benefits. An example of this would a specific provision within the Local Government superannuation arrangements to award professional added years to officers employed in certain specified professional grades. With regard to the five older university schemes, the Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009 provided for the transfer of their pension funds to the National Pension Reserve Fund. In accordance with Section 11 of the Act, discretions regarding added years, etc. transferred from the Governing Bodies to the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform acting jointly. I understand my colleague the Minister for Education and Skills has separately provided the Deputy with details of any such awards made since the implementation of this Act.
- Ill-Health/Death in Service: Added years may be granted in the Civil and Public Service in cases of retirement on the grounds of ill-health or where a Survivor's pension is being awarded in circumstances where the civil or public servant dies while still in service.
- Section 6 of the Superannuation Act 1909 and Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963 set out rules governing the early retirement of Civil Servants as a result of abolition of office or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in order to effect greater efficiency and economy in the organisation of a Department. Section 6 of the 1963 Act provides for the granting of added years. (These provisions may apply to Secretaries General at the end of their contracts; similar provisions apply to City & County Managers under the Local Government Superannuation Scheme). In the wider Public Service these provisions serve as guidelines in dealing with similar cases.
- Chief Executive Officers of Non-Commercial State Sponsored Bodies may, in certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions, be granted added years at the end of their contract.
It is not the case that the granting of added years is subject in all cases to direct Ministerial approval. Added years are generally granted on an administrative basis in accordance with the terms of the relevant pension scheme or statutes. Only in an exceptional case would formal Ministerial approval be required.
As regards the detailed information sought, it should be noted that, once a pension is calculated and comes into payment, a breakdown of the various service components upon which that pension is based is not retained centrally nor readily available. It would take an inordinate amount of official time and effort to obtain the information as it would necessitate examination of the files of all retirees since 2007.
273. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the number of commercial and non-commercial State agency board positions under the aegis of his Department filled between March 2011 and December 2013; the number of these positions that were publically advertised; and the number of female appointments. [1381/14]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware in 2011 the Government introduced new arrangements for the appointment of State board members. Under the new arrangements Departments now invite expressions of interest from the public in vacancies on the boards of bodies under their aegis on their websites. It is open to all members of the public regardless of gender, political affiliations or geographically location to apply for appointment to these vacancies.
I am satisfied that the new arrangements introduced by the Government in 2011 have significantly improved transparency in the making of appointments to State Boards compared with the making of appointments in previous years.
Since the formation of this Government 22 members have been nominated to State Boards, of which 23% are female. In view of the statutory procedures for the appointment of members of the Civil Service Arbitration Board and the Public Appointments Service, there is limited scope for me to take a factor such as gender into account when I make such appointments.
I would like to make it clear that it is my intention in the limited number of appointments I have to make to increase the number of women appointees over the lifetime of the Government. The following tables give a breakdown of the gender balance and positions filled of State boards under my remit from 2011 to 2013:
|
Board Name |
No. of Appointments made |
No. of Positions Advertised |
Male |
Female |
No. of Current Vacancies |
|
|
2011 |
0 |
|||||
|
2012 |
2* |
|||||
|
An Post National Lottery Board |
2013 |
6* |
0 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
|
2011 |
9 |
|||||
|
2012 |
2 |
|||||
|
Public Appointments Service Board |
2013 |
3 |
0** |
10*** |
4*** |
0 |
|
Total |
|
22 |
0 |
17 |
5 |
1 |
* Re-appointments in light of the sale of the National Lottery licence.
** The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 states that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (in consultation with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice and Equality) should appoint members of the Board of the Public Appointments Service.
The Board is meant to be representative of our client base. The majority of the board is therefore civil or public servants, nominated by the relevant Minister. There is also a union representative nominated by ICTU. The two external members were appointed by the Minister because of their expertise in strategic change and public service recruitment respectively.
*** The CEO of PAS is appointed to the Board on an ex officio basis.
274. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the number of JobBridge interns taken on in his Department in 2013. [1397/14]
View answerThe details of JobBridge intern placements in my Department during 2012 were set out in PQ 38670/13 and submitted on 18 September 2013. The overall numbers in respect of 2013 are set out in the table.
|
2013 |
|||
|
Number |
Position |
Start |
End |
|
1 |
Legal Researcher |
04.02.2013 |
01.11.2013 |
|
2 |
Legal Researcher |
11.03.2013 |
06.12.2013 |
|
3 |
Legal Researcher |
15.07.2013 |
11.04.2014 |
|
4 |
Research Assistant |
29.07.2013 |
25.04.2014 |
|
5 |
Legal Researcher |
09.09.2013 |
06.06.2014 |
|
6 |
Research Assistant |
16.09.2013 |
13.06.2014 |
|
7 |
Legal Researcher |
23.09.2013 |
11.10.2013 |
|
8 |
Legal Researcher |
23.09.2013 |
20.06.2014 |
|
9 |
Research Assistant |
21.10.2013 |
18.04.2014 |
275. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date by which his Department will publish its open government partnership national action plan. [1401/14]
View answerIt is currently envisaged that a draft National Action Plan required to facilitate Ireland's full participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) will be finalised by the end of April 2014. Subject to Government approval, it is expected that the Plan will be submitted to the OGP in May 2014. It is intended that the Plan will be developed over the coming months in consultation with civil society representatives consistent with the principles underlying the OGP initiative.
276. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has publicly advertised the current Standards in Public Office Commission board vacancies; and the date by which he intends to fill the positions. [1402/14]
View answer279. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to ensure that all vacancies of the board of the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, are filled as a matter of urgency; the reason for the delay; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that SIPO requires its full complement of six board members to investigate allegations under its remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1450/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 279 together.
On my recommendation, the Government has approved the nominations of former High Court Judge Daniel O'Keeffe for the post of Chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Commission and former Deputy Jim O'Keeffe as an ordinary member of the SiPOC. I have discussed the proposed appointments with the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin and the whip of the Technical Group. Resolutions for their appointment to the SiPOC will be submitted to the Dáil and Seanad next week.
278. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will support a case (details supplied). [1414/14]
View answerDublin City Council is the lead authority in relation to the development of any flood relief proposals for Clontarf and I understand that the Council is currently exploring possible options. Should a viable flood relief scheme emerge which meets with the acceptance of the relevant stakeholders, including the public, it will be open to the Council to apply for funding from the Office of Public Works to undertake such a scheme.
The provision of temporary anti-flooding measures for the area is also a matter for the City Council in the first instance. I am aware that the Council put substantial temporary measures in place along the Clontarf seafront for the recent storm which helped prevent significant flooding in the area.
280. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 358, now that the Garda station in Blarney has been completed when the previous station's prefabricated buildings will be removed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1585/14]
View answerThe Commissioners of Public Works are engaging with An Garda Síochána with a view to identifying a suitable alternative site and use for the prefabricated building. A decision in this regard is expected to be made shortly.
281. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht report on Shannon flooding published in 2012; if he will outline the detail of the responses to date to the committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1595/14]
View answer282. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 14 of 21 November 2013, if the data from the water flow analysis have been collated; if he will outline any conclusion reached on foot of this analysis; if this data will now be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1597/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 282 together.
The Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht report on Shannon flooding dealt with and included recommendations on a number of issues across a range of Government Departments and State Bodies. The Office of Public Works (OPW) responded to the Committee by way of a written reply in September 2012, in relation to the specific matters within the OPW's area of responsibility. The main area addressed in the reply related to the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) programme and how the OPW is addressing flood risk on the River Shannon in the context of the CFRAM Programme.
The Deputy will be aware that Jacobs Engineering are the consultants on the Shannon CFRAM study. The Committee Report was forwarded to Jacobs for consideration in the context of the Shannon CFRAM Study. In this regard, he will also recall the Shannon Levels Operations Report, produced by Jacobs in 2012 and on which the Committee received a briefing in late 2012.
As outlined to the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question 49418 of 2013, the OPW, with the cooperation of both the ESB and Waterways Ireland, has facilitated the carrying out of a water level monitoring exercise, as part of the CFRAM process, which will allow for analysis of water flows and levels at key points around the Lough Ree and Callows areas. The hydrometric data collated from the water flow/level exercise has been provided to the CFRAM consultants for its consideration within the CFRAM project. Any conclusions to be drawn from the exercise will form part of the CFRAM study. The interim data will be published on the OPW website in the coming days.
283. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the Templemore flood relief scheme; the position regarding this project; when work will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1614/14]
View answerThe Deputy may be aware that the Office of Public Works decided in the latter part of 2013 that it would be necessary to amend substantially the original proposals for the Templemore flood relief scheme, particularly in relation to a proposed by-pass culvert.
The amended proposals, which are technically superior and more economically advantageous, are currently being finalised with a view to putting them on public Exhibition at the end of March.
284. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of each of the approvals he or his Department granted for breaching the public pay cap over each of the past three years together with details of the posts concerned; the salary approved; and the basis on which each such approval was given. [1787/14]
View answerIn June 2011, I introduced a general pay cap of €250,000 for Chief Executive Officers of Commercial State Companies but acknowledged that the CEO of the ESB would be paid a higher amount given the importance of the role. The CEO of ESB was appointed subsequently at an annual salary of €295,00 which represented a reduction of 43% in the maximum of the scale that applied to the previous incumbent of the post. I also introduced at that time an annual salary cap of €200,000 for future Senior Public Service Appointments. No approvals have been issued for appointments in excess of these pay caps.
